The Face You See
by vinkunwildflowerqueen
Summary: Everyone has one great love that, if you let it, can change you forever. House thinks he knows who his love is, but what if he's wrong?
1. A Life Changing Decison

**The Face You See: ****A House fan fiction **

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good. Also, I have no idea about anything medical so I just rambled with things that sounded like they could make sense- a tactic that has served me well in assignments and exams.**

**Chapter 1: Life changing decision**

"What about celiac disease?"

"It would explain the fatigue and nausea but not the joint pain."

"Bone cancer? Oesteosocoma?"

"Doesn't explain the nausea."

Dr. Gregory House, world-renowned diagnostician stared at the whiteboard in frustration. His brow furrowed in thought as he stared at the list of symptoms, mentally summarizing the symptoms of every disease he could think of, eliminating those that didn't fit with what he saw before him. Past the whiteboard out the window, fierce winds blew a heavy snowfall around Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.

House sighed and unhooked his cane from the top of the whiteboard as he turned to face his three Diagnostic fellows sitting around the glass conference table. Dr. Eric Foreman, neurologist, also had his gaze fixed on the whiteboard, trying desperately to see the missing piece of the puzzle. Next to him, Dr. Robert Chase absently stirred his cold cup of coffee with a straw, his eyes seeing past the whiteboard and through the falling snow outside the window, his tie askew and shirt sleeves rolled up as a result of a late night of inconclusive tests and procedures. Opposite Chase, the lone female of the Diagnostics' department, Dr. Allison Cameron had her chin resting on one hand, the other over her mouth as she resolutely stared at the file, trying to think of possibilities. Her eyes were filled with worry for their fifteen-year-old patient, and there were dark circles under her eyes from a sleepless night. Under the table, House could see her leg restlessly tapping upon the carpet, and her hair was loose in unruly curls, dark tresses falling in front of her eyes.

Just looking at her made House tired, and he stepped aside to pour himself another cup of coffee, only pausing to dry swallow two Vicodin before drinking. "Has Jemima-"

"Jemma," Cameron corrected automatically, her voice muffled by the hand she still held over her mouth to suppress a yawn.

"Whatever," House continued, waving his coffee mug dismissively in the air. "Has she had her flu shot?"

Chase's gaze returned from the window to stare at his boss in confusion. "You think this is a simple case of the flu? If it was, the ER wouldn't have given it to us."

House rolled his eyes. "No, I don't think this is the flu. However, if she had a flu shot and had a reaction to it her body could-"

Puzzled by his sudden silence, Cameron wearily lifted her gaze from the file, to see House staring at the doorway like he'd seen a ghost. Turning around in her chair, Cameron saw what had made that strange expression come across House's face.

"Hi, Greg."

"Stacy," he replied, his voice expressionless but his eyes showing the confusion and surprise he was feeling.

An awkward tension filled the office, which was broken by Foreman's slight and purposeful cough. "Uh, House?"

House was startled from his reverie and tore his gaze away from his former girlfriend. "Right. Chase, Foreman, test for auto-immune, take a bone-marrow and test for cancer, test for celiac, and do new blood cultures. Cameron-"

He looked down at his immunologist and felt something that could only be described as pity. "Go home- get some sleep. The family like you, and you can't manipulate her emotions if you're dead on your feet."

Without waiting for a reaction, he limped through the conference room to his office, not giving any sign or indication to the visitor in the doorway. Chase and Foreman swept past her with awkward nods on their way to perform the tests, whilst Cameron, still surprised by House's orders gathered her laptop and coat to go home.

"Do you think it's safe to enter?" Stacy asked the young doctor, eyeing House's office door apprehensively.

Cameron chuckled. "Your guess is as good as mine." She passed through into the hallway, and turned to face the other woman.

"It was good to see you again," she said sincerely and Stacy gave a small smile.

"Thanks. At least that's one person."

Cameron returned the smile. "Good luck."

House sat in his desk chair, tossing his oversized tennis ball in one hand. Stacy's arrival had taken him completely by surprise, after no contact of any kind for the past year and a half. Of course, that had been the effect of his decision, which made her visit even more strange. When he glanced up at the doorway again, there she was.

"Deemed it safe to enter?" he asked sarcastically.

"For now. How are you?"

"Super."

"I heard you got shot."

House shrugged. "You know me, my fan club has one or two eccentrics."

Stacy smirked. "Right. Because if they can't have you, no-one can."

"Damn straight."

They fell silent again, and Stacy took a few short steps further into the room. "What are you doing here Stacy? Marc sick again?"

"I wouldn't know."

House raised an eyebrow. "Is he doing that non-communicative thing again? Group therapy obviously isn't working, I'd try a different shrink."

"Marc and I are divorced," Stacy said bluntly.

House nodded shortly. "Right. Have a sense of déjà vu? Crippled man angry, takes it out on partner. Partner leaves? At least being married, you get half of everything."

Stacy sighed in exasperation. "No! He's doing fine, or so his divorce attorney tells me. It didn't happen like us."

House was curious now. "So, how did it happen?"

Stacy grimaced slightly and sat down opposite his desk. "After we left here... everything was fine. And then, I told him about us. We tried to make it work for a while, but in the end... it was only finalised a few months ago."

"And how does that lead you here?" House asked her.

Stacy took a deep breath. "Where we left. Greg, I still love you. And despite the way things ended between us, I'd really like to give us another try."

House's eyebrows darted up. "You want me back?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

House wasn't sure what to say. "Look, Stacy-"

"You don't have to decide right now," she interrupted him. "I'm in Princeton for the weekend, at the Hyatt. Just... at least consider it. Or pretend to consider it. Please?"

Unsurely, House nodded his mind already a million miles away. He didn't even register Stacy leaving, or anything else until Chase dashed into his office, thrusting a file in his hands.

"All the test are negative," he announced dramatically.

House looked up at him, startled. Trying to cover it, he picked up the file to study the results. "What time is it?" he asked.

Chase glanced at his watch. "Uh, just after two."

Four hours he had been sitting there, lost in thought. House stood up, stretched and grabbed his cane. "Is Cameron back?"

He looked surprised. "Yeah, she's been back for an hour. Didn't she bring you in a cup of coffee?" he asked uncertainly.

House looked down, and sure enough a stale cup of coffee sat unobtrusively on the corner of his desk. He picked it up, took a sip and grimaced as the cold liquid ran down his throat. "Come on," he said brusquely to Chase and led the intevist into the conference room. Only Cameron was there, she smiled at House as he entered and swapped his mug for another as he passed her.

"Fresh cup," she explained simply.

House nodded his thanks to her and sat down at the conference table. "Did you sleep?"

He caught a glimmer of surprise cross her face, but she nodded. "Yeah, a little."

"Where's Foreman?"

"He'll be up in a minute, he's doing his clinic hours," she replied.

House drained his coffee in a few big swallows and stood up again. "Chase, go inspect the home. Cameron... you and Foreman do a full body scan."

He strode out of the conference room without another word, faintly registering Cameron's inquisitive concerned stare on his back as he left. House headed straight next door, and opened the door without knocking, entering the office and lying down on the couch, his bad leg stretched out in front of him. The office's occupant, Dr. James Wilson, looked up from his paperwork with a smile.

"You're late today. Lunch was two hours ago."

"I was busy," House replied, staring up at the ceiling.

Wilson frowned. "You're never too busy to get a free lunch. What's up?"

House sighed, twirling his cane in his hand. "Stacy came back."

His friend's eyes widened and he completely abandoned his paperwork. "Stacy? When? Why?"

"This morning... she just showed up at my office door."

"Why?" Wilson repeated.

"She and Marc are divorced, and she wants me back," House replied with little expression.

Wilson didn't know whether to act excited or confused first, so his expression came across as though he had been told a joke and laughed, but was left wondering what the joke was.

"Is- is this good news?"

House met his friend's gaze and shrugged. "I'm not sure how I feel."

Wilson was still stunned. "Well, remember the last time she came back?"

"Faintly," House answered casually.

"House, you need to decide what your feelings for her are," Wilson said reasonably. "If you think there's a chance for you to be happy again, why not take it?"

House heaved a sigh and stood up. "Right," he murmured, leaving the room.

As they conducted the scan, Foreman suddenly turned to Cameron. "What do you think Stacy was here for?"

Cameron shook her head, still focused on the screen. "I don't know. But whatever reason she's here for, it's thrown House. And I really hope that's not bad for Jemma."

Foreman frowned. "How can you tell it's thrown him?"

She sighed and took off her reading glasses. "Well, for one thing he ordered a full body scan. He hates full body scans!"

"Yeah, I know. I don't know why though," Foreman replied.

Cameron smiled. "Because we use it to tell us what part of the body we should be focusing on. But Greg House, diagnostician connoisseur-"

"Should know instinctively where to look?" Foreman finished.

She grinned. "Exactly. It's a sign of weakness in House's eyes."

Foreman shook his head in admiration. "You've really got him wired, Cameron."

His friend shrugged modestly. "Not really. I'm just observant. It comes from doing a minor in psychology as an undergrad," she laughed.

Chase was already in the conference room when they returned from doing the scan, and he nodded towards the results in Cameron's hand. "What did you find?"

She handed him the results to see for himself. "Swelling of her glands. Looks like meningitis. Where's House?"

"With Wilson, I think. Want me to page him?" Chase offered.

Cameron shook her head. "That's a waste. I'll go get him."

House sat once again on Wilson's couch, not saying much. Wilson on the other hand, was compensating for his friend's silence.

"This is big... I mean, after your history I can understand why you'd be wary of getting back with her; but she everything she did she did because she loves you."

"Yeah, yeah. You said all this six years ago," House cut him off.

Wilson sighed. "You can't keep her hanging House. You have to give her an answer one way or the other. I guess, it just comes down to how strong any feelings you still have for her are."

There was a small knock on the door and Cameron stuck her head through the ajar door. "Hey, Wilson. House, the results are back. It looks like meningitis."

House immediately got up off the couch and headed for the door. "Sorry Jimmy, some of us have lives to save," he said as he left.

The meningitis confirmed, Chase and Foreman disappeared to start the treatment whilst House returned to his office and switched on his TV. Just seconds later, there was a tentative tap on the door, and House glanced up at Cameron, now standing where Stacy had been standing earlier that day.

"I assume you overheard what Wilson said and want me to share my feelings?" House asked finally, deciding she wasn't going to speak first.

Cameron smiled faintly. "Hardly. I just wanted to offer some advice."

"Advice from a cancer widow? Please, go ahead."

Cameron hesitated. "Forget it."

She turned to leave and House sighed heavily. "Cameron."

She turned back and House jerked his head at the seat opposite his desk. "Get in here."

Unsurely, she did so and stared at her clasped hands on her lap, trying to decide what to say. "Everyone has one great love."

House frowned in confusion. "That's your advice? Everyone has one great love?"

She frowned. "Can I finish? I've never actually put this in words before."

When he was silent, she continued. "Everyone has one great love. You can love or even fall _in _love more than once, but there's always one great love that changes you forever. And it doesn't always end in happily ever after, it won't always be perfect or a classic love story. But if you can get a chance to relive that relationship, it can still change you."

House was startled to see tears forming in her eyes, and her throat became suddenly clogged. "I know... if I could have even another minute with my husband, I'd take it in a heartbeat, and forgo whatever consequences. If you walk away because you're afraid of the consequences, then you'll always regret it. But this is one situation, if you have an automatic reaction... it's probably the wrong one. Thought means consideration, which means there's an emotional connection. Those are the ones generally worth complying with."

With that, Cameron rose silently and left the office leaving House staring at his TV. Fifteen minutes later, House left his office bike helmet in hand. Stacy's eyes widened hopefully when she opened her hotel door, but she remained wary.

"Hi, Greg."

"Hi," he replied. She stood back to let him in, and he turned to face her, but his gaze never met hers for long, continuously moving around the room. "If we do this, we can't rush into it."

"Ok," she agreed cautiously.

"You get your own place, at least for now. I have to be able to trust you again."

"I have to be able to trust you too."

"I know."

Stacy regarded him for a moment, and then smiled. "Ok, then."

House finally met her gaze and held it, then smiled faintly. "Ok."


	2. A Proposal

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good. Also, I promise this is a Hameron story, so bear with me.. Stacy will not be there for long.**

**Chapter 2: A Proposal**

Stacy pulled her car outside along House's townhouse as the sun was setting. It was late afternoon, and the sun was beginning to struggle against the incoming darkness, a sure sign of the end of winter. Stacy was glad, winter was always harder for House with his leg. This thought reminded Stacy of the information in her briefcase, and it inspired her to move faster to the entryway of her boyfriend's home.

"Greg?" she called as she entered, taking off her coat and scarf. There was no answer, but she could hear the shower running. She sighed, throwing her briefcase onto the coffee table and moved into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. It was so strange in her mind to again be referring to House as her 'boyfriend'. It was almost as though she had stepped into a time rip and was back again six years prior, with several subtle differences. Although it had been two months since she had returned to Princeton, she still had the 'temporary' accommodations she had found and there were none of her personal belongings in sight in the townhouse. Most nights, she was sleeping in her own bed, alone and on the nights she did have House to keep her warm, it was at her apartment, not his. Stacy knew there was still a lot of issues for them to work through, to get to where they had been six years ago, or even a year and a half ago; but sometimes she got the impression his heart wasn't in it. She was hoping the papers in her briefcase would fix that.

"Hey," House greeted her, entering the living room barefoot his hair wet from the shower ten minutes later.

"Hey," she smiled as he threw himself down next to her, kissing her cheek.

She put her coffee mug down and opened her briefcase, pulling out a sheaf of papers and turning to him nervously. "I was looking on the net today, and I came across some interesting information."

"1001 new sexual positions for Dummies and Constitutional Lawyers?" House quipped, reaching for the papers curiously. He read the first page and his eyes darkened.

"No way," he said flatly, standing up and moving to his piano.

Stacy sighed, and readied herself for a fight and a lonely night. "I remembered Lisa telling me about it, that's why I found it interesting. They've made a lot of progress in the past year, and it sounds like it would be really beneficial."

"No," House repeated, more forcefully.

"Come on, Greg. It worked last time didn't it? No limp, no pain... this would be better than that!" she protested.

"I said no. Give it a rest, Stacy." House moved into the kitchen and she followed him, undeterred.

"No. Greg, we know the ketamine works. Lisa and James said you were pain-free for two and a half months after you were shot! The progress they've made in Germany since then guarantees a cure!"

"That's what they said last time, and yet... still pain, still limp. There's no such thing as a guaranteed cure."

Stacy sighed and switched to pleading. "Greg, please. This can help you... help us."

House stared at her for a moment, his eyes narrowed. "That's so low."

She grinned. "It shows how much I think you should do this. I've already spoken to Lisa and James, and the doctors in Germany. We'd have to go there, but Lisa says you have plenty of vacation time, so we can easily be there for the surgery and the three months of rehab the doctors in Germany are recommending. James and Lisa are also going to reassign Chase, Cameron and Foreman throughout the hospital while we're gone, so they can't kill anyone unsupervised."

House snorted. "They're not total idiots. They wouldn't kill anyone. You've already arranged all this?"

She nodded. "Pretty much. I'll have to book tickets and accommodation for me, but the rest is taken care of. Except.... I thought you'd want to tell your parents yourself."

House glared at her. "Getting me to agree to surgery is one thing. There's no need to involve my parents!"

"No, because their only son is only going to Germany for a life changing operation."

"I'm not getting a sex change. I can tell them after."

"If you don't call them, Wilson will."

House sighed. "Dammit."

The next morning, House entered the conference room to find Cameron answering his mail, Chase doing his morning crossword and Foreman reading a medical journal.

"Exciting news, children!" he announced, grabbing their attention. "You're going on a field trip!"

"Where to?" Chase asked.

"Unfortunately for you, nowhere exciting. Starting in February, you three will be temporarily assigned to other hotspots within the hospital for three months."

Cameron looked startled. "What? Why?"

"To gain independence," House replied. "Also, because Big Daddy won't be here, and you can't play in parlour unless Daddy's here. In case you break the good china."

"Where are you going?" Foreman asked.

"Better yet, where are we going?" Chase added.

House sighed. "I'm leaving for Germany in four weeks. I'll be gone for three months, hence the reassignments. Cuddy's going to drop by soon to fill you guys in."

"Germany? What's in Germany?"

"According to some, Hitler still lives in the Austrian hills- the ones not filled with the sound of music," House answered. "In Germany however, is the Ketamine research clinic. They've promised a 'guaranteed cure' for your aches, pains and infarctions. And if you pay by credit card within the next 30 days, they toss in three months of rehab and a free set of steak knives."

His fellows were stunned. "They can fix your leg- permanently?" Cameron demanded excitedly.

"So they say."

"Wow, that's really good House, congratulations!" Foreman told him.

"Yeah, congrats. That'll be good for you," Chase added.

Cameron was beaming at him. "This is amazing. And three months of rehab?"

"Yeah," House nodded. He said nothing else, but he was saved from having to add anything by the arrival of Cuddy.

"Good morning, everyone," she said brightly. She turned to House, one eyebrow raised. "Have you told them?"

"Yes, mommy," House rolled his eyes.

"So where will we be moved to?" Foreman asked the Dean of Medicine.

Cuddy opened the folder in her hands as she answered. "You, Dr. Foreman will be assisting in neurology; Chase, the NICU and Dr. Cameron, how would you feel about taking over the ER?"

Cameron gaped at her. "Take over the ER?"

"Dr. Schafer is going on maternity leave," Cuddy explained. "I was going to move you to immunology, but she requested that you fill in during her absence."

Cameron looked stunned. "Wow, yeah that would be great."

"Good. Dr. Schafer would like to consult with you tomorrow afternoon, just to give you a run down on things."

She nodded. "Yeah, ok."

"Good. I've got to go, I have an appointment with some donors, but thank you all for your co-operation." Cuddy smiled at them all and left.

House was staring at Cameron, reluctantly impressed. "Geez, Cameron. Who's Mommy's favourite?"

"House!" Cuddy called, sticking her head through the door. "Don't forget to call your mother."

House sighed and rolled his eyes. "Dammit."

He reluctantly left the conference room, where Chase and Foreman were offering their congratulations to a still surprised Cameron, and sat down in his chair and picked up the phone. Taking a deep breath, he slowly dialled the number of his parent's home in North Carolina.

"Hello?" his mother's voice greeted him after only four rings.

"Hey, mom it's me."

"Greg!" Blythe House sounded sincerely delighted to hear from her son. "How are you, sweetheart?"

"Fine... you?"

"Oh, I'm fine, dear. So's your father. What are you up to? How's Stacy?"

"Fine."

House grimaced at the silence, and decided to get it over with. "Actually, I'm going to Germany next month."

"Oh, a holiday?" Blythe asked her son.

"No... There's this clinic, and they've been doing research on the use of ketamine treatment."

"Ketamine... isn't that what you were given when you got shot?"

"Yeah. Well, they've advanced their techniques since then, but the principles the same. They say they can cure my leg."

Blythe drew in a sharp breath. "Oh, Greg! That's wonderful, darling! When do you leave?"

"February fifteenth. I'll be gone for three months."

"Three months? For one surgery?"

"No, the surgery will be done the second day. The three months is for rehab. They want to monitor my progress and whatnot."

"Oh, of course. That makes sense. Hang on Greg, your father just walked in, let me tell him."

"Sure."

House sighed and listened to the murmur of muffled voices as his mother filled her husband in on events. Finally, she came back on the line.

"Greg?"

"Yeah."

"Your father's going to push back his fishing trip, and we'll meet you and Stacy in Berlin on the sixteenth."

House was startled. "What? Mom, no-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Greg!" his mother chided. "Of course we're going to come. This is an enormous deal for you, and we want to see our son healthy. Now, what clinic is this?"

House moaned slightly, knowing there was no arguing with his mother, and although there would be if it had been his father on the line, the end result would be the same. Reluctantly, he rattled of the details to Blythe, who dutifully copied them down.

"Ok, then. Oh, Greg, we're so excited for you. Take care of yourself until then, ok?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Ok. Your Dad sends his love. We'll see you on the sixteenth."

"Right. Ok, Mom. Bye."

House hung up the phone quickly and banged his head down on his desk. "This had better be worth it," he muttered darkly, staring at his injured leg.


	3. Teenage Valentine's Baby

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good.**

**Chapter 3: Teenage Valentine Baby**

The next four weeks flew by. House and Stacy had all sorts of arrangements to make before they left, and although Cuddy was restricting the department's patients, to adjust to the three-month hiatus, House and the others were therefore kept busy in the clinic, much to House's chagrin.

"Hey!" Chase said suddenly one morning in early February. "We should do something before you leave!"

"Oh, yeah!" Cameron added eagerly. "A farewell thing.."

House groaned. "Do we have to?"

"We can just go to a bar, it doesn't have to be anything fancy," Foreman assured him. "God knows many people here won't want to go," he added in an undertone to Chase, who snickered.

House considered the matter. "Hmmm, a farewell night getting drunk in a bar... I can manage that," he agreed.

"Cool. How about the night before you leave? The fourteenth?" Chase suggested.

House looked at him in distaste. "Valentine's Day? You want to spend Valentine's Day with _us?" _

He shrugged. "Why not? Unless you and Stacy have plans?"

"No, we don't do Valentine's Day," House said firmly.

"Then what's stopping you? We can get drunk and laugh at all the saps that do celebrate it," Foreman grinned.

House nodded. "I can do that."

"Cameron? You in?" Foreman asked her.

Cameron grimaced. "Uh, that's not really a good night for me... I have plans. What about the night before?"

However, the three men's attention was now fixed firmly on her. "Ooh, does Cameron have a Valentine's date?" House asked interestedly.

She blushed. "No, I don't. I just have plans. Ones I'd prefer to keep to myself."

"Oh, come on Cameron. Tell us!" Foreman grinned.

"Yeah, who's the guy?" Chase teased.

House smirked. "Either you have a date, or your spending the evening doing love spells so you have a date for next Valentine's Day. Which is it?"

"Neither!" Cameron replied, glaring at him. "My family's in town that weekend. Ok? Can we drop it now?"

House was even more interested now. "Oh, let's crash Cameron's family instead. We can get drunk with them!"

She gritted her teeth. "No, you can't. You're not coming."

"Why not? Who are you ashamed of? Them or us?"

"You," she replied, glaring specifically at House.

"Why are they coming?" Chase asked.

"Family reasons. None of your business," she answered dignified, as she rose. "I'm due in the clinic."

"I'm going to figure it out!" House called after her.

"Whatever," she called in return, without turning.

House finished his coffee and headed as usual, over to Wilson's office. His friend, in the midst of filling out prescriptions for his patients, paused in his work.

"I'm going to miss this. What will I do without you interrupting my work all the time? I might actually get things done!"

"Would you want me to meet your family?" House asked him, ignoring his comment.

Wilson frowned. "You have met my family."

House sighed impatiently. "I mean, if you weren't you."

He paused. "I'm still confused. Who am I?"

"My dear ducklings have decided to throw me a farewell- get-drunk night on Valentine's Day. Or rather, the boys did. Cameron lost interest when we decided on Valentine's Day."

Wilson shrugged. "Maybe she has a date?"

"No, her family's in town. I suggested we crash that shindig, and she refused."

Wilson nodded in understanding. "Oh, and you need to know why."

"She said she's ashamed of me."

"Well, you are an ass. It's a logical reaction, especially given your history."

House was startled. "My history? With Cameron? There is no history!"

"Right... so who was that person who had feelings for you, and then blackmailed you into going on a date, where you crushed her? Dameron... Pameron..."

"Yeah, yeah," House interrupted impatiently. "You think that's why she doesn't want me to meet them?"

Wilson was staring at him strangely. "Why does it bug you so much?"

House tried to shrug off his gaze. "Well, she's met my parents. I've met Chase's dad, Foreman's dad... isn't natural to be curious about the family of people you know?"

"Yes, to a degree. House, look maybe she's just trying to keep her work life separate from her family life. For all we know, there's stuff in her life she doesn't want you knowing. Respect her as your employee. It's not as though she's expected to tell you her family tree or anything."

Wilson lowered his head to write another prescription, but looked up as his office door slammed shut.

Three hours later, Cameron wearily entered the conference room. She hung up her lab coat on the coat rack by the door, and poured herself a cup of coffee before collapsing into the nearest available chair. She jumped almost out of her skin, as a loud noise sounded near her ear. Chase and Foreman looked up from their work to see House standing behind Cameron, a party blower in his lips.

"What the hell are you doing?" Cameron demanded.

House looked particularly smug as he sat down. "Cameron was right, boys. The fourteenth is out for my big farewell. Because I wouldn't want to steal Cameron's thunder."

"What do you mean?" Chase asked, as Cameron's face turned ashen.

"Cameron's having a birthday!" House announced gleefully. "The big 3-0, if I'm right."

Chase and Foreman turned to their co-worker in shock. "It's your birthday?" Foreman asked in disbelief.

"You're a Valentine's baby," House snickered.

Cameron sighed and glared at him. "Yes. Ok, yeah it's my birthday, that's why my family's in town."

"So, why did we not score invites to the birthday party?" House demanded.

She rolled her eyes. "It's not a party. It's just a night out with my family and some friends."

"We're not friends?" Foreman asked, sounding hurt.

"Isn't that what you said?" House asked him, and Cameron shot daggers at him.

"Guys, it's not a big deal. Ok? Please, just leave it. We can do dinner or drinks the night before, and... Whatever. Please?" Cameron begged.

"Oh, come on Cameron. You're a friend, and we should celebrate your birthday, especially your thirtieth. How bad could it be?" Chase said reasonably.

Cameron looked at the three innocent faces, and sighed wearily. "Fine. If you really want to come, you can come."

House grinned. "Awesome. Where is it?"

"Um, my stepbrother and his partner own this karaoke club down by the water. _La Vie Boheme? _At seven-thirty."

"_La Vie Boheme? _Like the song in _Rent?" _House repeated.

Cameron nodded. "Yeah. It's popular in our family. My stepbrother has been in two productions, I've been in three, and my little sister is going to be in her first production this spring."

"What roles?" Foreman asked, grinning at this surprising news.

Cameron sighed, knowing it was better just to answer than avoid the question. "Jake played Mark senior year, and Roger his freshman year. I played Mimi my junior year and freshman year, and Maureen my senior year. Erin's playing Joanne."

Trying to avoid more questions, she picked up the phone. "I'll call Jake. Let him know there'll be extra guests."

It was Chase, Foreman, Wilson, Cuddy and of course, House and Stacy that were added to the guest list of the party Jake was planning, and he was thrilled at the prospect of finally meeting his stepsister's colleagues. The group arranged to meet at _La Vie Boheme _at seven-fifteen on Valentine's night, a day which had been bitterly cold for February. Cameron had taken the day off to greet her family upon their arrival, so the team had not seen her so far.

"Hey, Happy Birthday!" Foreman greeted her as she approached them, the last to arrive.

Cameron sighed slightly, then laughed and accepted the hug he offered her. "Thanks. Come on, let's go inside. It's freezing!"

She led the way to the entrance, her stilettos clicking on the cold pavement, and only her bare calves visible under her coat. "My mom and step-mom have been here all afternoon helping Jake decorate," she laughed.

"He closed the club for tonight?" Wilson asked her.

"Yeah. He figured, who'd come to karaoke on Valentine's Day, whether it's a Friday night or not?" she grinned. "Knowing Jake, he's probably gone excessive on the decor!"

"Allie!" As soon as the group entered the club, a woman who didn't look that much older than House dashed across the room to embrace Cameron.

House expected this to be her stepbrother's partner, or stepmother, so was shocked as Cameron laughed and pulled away. "Mom, you saw me all morning!"

"It's your birthday, I think I'm allowed to spoil my only daughter," the woman answered, framing Cameron's face in her hands.

Cameron rolled her eyes obligingly and turned to face the others. "Guys, this is my mom Amanda Hunter. Mom, this is Chase, Foreman, Wilson, Cuddy, House and Stacy."

Amanda smiled at them all welcomingly. "It's so nice to _finally _meet you all. The guests won't be arriving for another twenty minutes, so it's just the family for now. Just hang up your coats and we'll go through."

Stacy shrugged off her jacket and handed it to House, who promptly handed both their coats to Wilson to hang up. Her stomach tightened as Cameron took off her coat, and her boyfriend's eyes widened appreciatively seeming to drink in her appearance. Cameron wore a deep aquamarine dress that ended just above the knee, and her long hair was in loose, flowing curls. It was simple, yet flattering, and she noticed that Chase, Foreman and Wilson also admired her openly.

"This way," Cameron gestured, leading the way and she linked arms with her mother as they entered the club, which as Cameron had predicted, was excessively decorated in various shades of blue, green and silver.

"Hey, the birthday girl's here!" one of the men cried, and Cameron laughed as she embraced him.

"Everyone, this is Eric Foreman, Robert Chase, James Wilson, Lisa Cuddy, Stacy Warner and Greg House. People, you know my mom; this is my Dad Christopher Cameron, his wife Kym, my stepdad Marcus Hunter, and my stepsister Hayley," she introduced them all.

They barely had time to acknowledge the greetings before more people arrived from the back of the stage and Cameron had to greet them too.

"Hey Bryan. You too old to hug your big sister yet?" she asked a teenage boy, smiling.

"Yes," he replied, but hugged her anyway. "Happy Birthday Allie."

"I'm not too old," a younger boy added, embracing Cameron and she laughed. "Good to know, Ben. I give you another year or two."

"Happy birthday, Allie," a girl said, hugging her tightly.

"Thanks, Erin."

She turned to her colleagues. "This is Hayley's husband Tyson, my stepbrother Jake, my Dad and Kim's children Bryan, Erin and Ben, my best friend Jason, his wife Jasmin and Jake's partner Daniel," she pointed them out after she had hugged everyone and accepted their birthday wishes.

"You guys own this place? It's great," Cuddy complimented Jake and Dan.

Dan grinned. "Thanks. It does pretty well, and it doubles as a dance studio during the day. I'm a dance teacher," he explained.

"What sort of dance?" Stacy asked conversationally.

"Ballet, jazz and ballroom. I'm trying to get Allie back on the floor, but she's pretty stubborn," he replied.

Cameron glared at her friend as her co-workers turned to her with stunned gazes. "You dance?" Wilson asked incredulously.

"Ballroom since I was six," Cameron sighed. "Dan was my partner."

Jake grabbed her hand. "Allie, come help me finish picking music for tonight."

She willingly went with him, as her colleagues found seats with her family. House could bear the suspense no longer.

"Sorry," he said to Chris. "How old are you?"

Surprisingly, Chris laughed. "Don't be sorry. We're used to it by now. Allison normally warns people before they meet us, but I guess she didn't get a chance to debrief you on the family history."

Kym jumped in, with a smile at her husband. "You'll probably hear it again during the speeches later tonight, but we never miss a chance to tell it ourselves."

They waited expectantly as Amanda began the story. "Chris and I were high school sweethearts. We were together for a year, and then... at my Sweet Sixteenth,"

"Allison happened," Chris finished.

"So, she was a teenage pregnancy Valentine's baby?" House summarised gleefully.

Amanda laughed. "Yes. Chris and I married, of course, if only to keep his mother from having a stroke, but we split up when Allie was three."

"I'm guessing it was a friendly divorce?" Wilson contributed.

"We grew up together. What else could it be?" laughed Chris.

"Five years later," Hayley continued. "He met mom and married her when Jake and I were sixteen and they proceeded to spit out Bryan, Erin and Ben."

"Who are how old?" Foreman inquired.

"Eighteen, sixteen and thirteen respectively," Kym answered.

"And sometime between Erin and Ben, Amanda met Marcus, who happens to be my godfather," Jason carried the story on. "And they married a year later. And that is the extremely abnormal, yet totally normal family of Allison Elizabeth Cameron-Mackenzie."

He winced as Cameron approached from behind and slapped the back of his head, mock scowling at him. "What have I told you about using my whole name?"

"I forget. Amnesia caused by years of frequent head abuse," Jason replied teasingly and the two laughed.

"And you're how old?" House asked bluntly, returning his attention to Chris.

"Forty- six," Amanda replied calmly.

"Fifty-five!" Kym raised her hand.

"Fifty!" Marcus added.

House turned to Cameron, stunned. "Ok, your parents are only two years older than me!"

"Yes, what's your point?" she asked him.

"It's a little creepy to think about," he responded.

"So don't think about it," Stacy told her boyfriend, exasperated.

"So, which of you lot is going to get up on stage first?" Marcus asked them.

Chase laughed nervously. "Oh, no. I- I... it's not really my thing."

Jake grinned. "Sorry, guys. Didn't Allie tell you? If you come, you have to get up on stage."

They all turned accusing gazes on Cameron, who innocently sipped the drink Hayley handed her. "Ooops, did I not mention that?"

"Allison Elizabeth Cameron-Mackenzie-" House began threateningly, and she glared at Jason.

"Ok, now look what you've started!"

"You could've mentioned the mandatory karaoke condition of entry!" Chase told her.

She shrugged. "Hey, you guys wanted to come. Remember? You _begged _me to let you come."

"You suck," Foreman told her and she giggled.

Over the next twenty minutes, another thirty people entered the room, all friends of Cameron's from high school, college and med-school. Finally, as the guests mingled and helped themselves to the food and the open bar, Jake hopped up on stage to begin the night.

"Ok, party people! Welcome to _La Vie Boheme _as we gather here tonight to celebrate the thirtieth birthday, of Allison Cameron!"

Jason led a group of their high school friends in cat calls and ear-piercing whistles that made Cameron blush furiously. House grinned to himself as he watched her delicate skin flush a rosy pink, and Stacy pointedly focused her attention on the stage as Jake prepared to call the first singer to the stage. All the guests' names had been placed in a barrel, and Jake drew the first slip out, grinning.

"Ok, please welcome the first person to kick off the night... Mrs. Amanda Hunter!"

Cameron laughed, and cheered as her mother rose from her seat. "Yay! Go Mom!"

Amanda graciously stepped onto the stage, and waited for the music to start, with a rousing chorus of _ABBA's _'Souper Trouper.'

And so the night began. Many of the night's highlights included Jason singing Jimmy Barnes' 'Working Class Man'; Cuddy performing the Spice Girls' 'Wannabe'; and a classmates of Cameron's from college throwing her heart and soul in to a crowd-pleasing rendition of 'Girl's just Want to have fun.' House's personal favourites though, were quite different. He was literally rendered speechless when Cameron took to the stage to thundering applause and not only sang, but sang amazingly well, a rendition of Stevie Nicks' 'Edge of Seventeen' that by far outshone the original recording. It was saucy, sexy and playful and a far different side of Allison Cameron he, or any of the other PPTH staff had expected. Cameron and Jason performed 'Another Day' from _Rent _after numerous audience requests, and House almost choked laughing at Wilson's version of 'Hound Dog'.

"Elvis Presley reincarnated, you are not," he told his friend once he'd resumed his seat, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. The tears threatened to return however, when for the last number of the night, Cameron returned and sang a haunting performance of Trisha Yearwood's 'How do I live'. Luckily, the tears remained unshed and he was able to laugh at Cuddy, Stacy and Wilson, who's tears did fall.

"Where on earth did you learn to sing like that?" Chase asked her in amazement after she had sat back down.

Cameron blushed. "School choir. There's always been plenty of music in our house, all the time. I just grew up with it."

Jake turned on the music as the guests ate, drank and talked, until Chris rose from his chair, and called for everyone's attention.

"Ok, everyone! I'm going to get the ball rolling with the speeches for tonight. First of all, I'd like to welcome Allison's colleagues and friends from Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Sorry, to disappoint you all, but there won't be many embarrassing stories tonight- those were all told at her twenty-first!" he laughed, his eyes twinkling at Allison, who reddened.

"Thirty years ago today, I got the best Valentine's Day present I've ever received, my daughter. As parents, you form expectations about who you want your child to be, what you want her to stand for, and what qualities you want her to possess. And my princess turned out absolutely perfect."

Cameron blushed as House let out a sarcastic "Awww!", and Cuddy elbowed him in the ribs.

Chris merely chuckled as he continued. "Allie, I know I speak for our entire collected family, when I say we are so proud of you. You have good morals, the biggest heart of anyone I know, and an amazing judge of character. And no matter what life throws at you, you keep your head high, and keep your faith in love and humanity. Your mother and I couldn't be prouder. Happy Birthday, Princess."

Cameron laughed though unshed tears and got up to hug her father, then her mother and stepparents fiercely before sitting down. Then Amanda stepped up, drink in hand. "I just want to explain why I chose 'Super Trouper' to perform tonight. As some of you know, I had Allie at sixteen. And she's always been mature beyond her years. Even as a baby, the only songs to get her to calm down at three in the morning were ABBA songs, especially 'Souper Trouper'. They were the only songs I could recall all the words of at three in the morning, and it stuck. So now, 'Souper Trouper' is my baby's song. Allie, happy birthday, kiddo."

Jake and Hayley made the next speech together with Bryan, Erin and Ben; then Marcus and Kym said a few words each. Jason added a few favourite childhood memories to his speech for the benefit of House and the others, to their delight, and then Allison's college roommate, Sarah and her husband Joe, who had been best friends with her husband Alex made a toast.

"We all know Alex should be here with you tonight, Allie," Joe said seriously, smiling down at her. "But he was my best friend for ten years, and I know he'd be incredibly proud of you if he was here. To Allison!" he called, raising his glass and Cameron fought back tears as she hugged the couple.

Jason claimed the first dance with the birthday girl once the band began to play, and whisked her onto the floor. Finally, Amanda and Kym brought out a massive cake, and a laughing Cameron blew out the thirty candles on top and then she began opening all her gifts.

"This isn't much of a farewell for you guys, is it?" she said apologetically, when she found herself sitting with House and Stacy in a spare moment between dances. "Sorry about that."

"I'm having a great time," House said enthusiastically.

Cameron and Stacy rolled their eyes at him. "Yeah, of course you are. You get the all the answers without having to ask any questions, " Cameron teased him.

"Exactly. Why did you think I wanted to come? Sure as hell not to celebrate your birthday. I don't even celebrate _my _birthday!"

"Do you even know when your birthday is?" she laughed.

"Listen Princess Allison Elizabeth Cameron-Mackenzie," House began mockingly, and she groaned.

"I'm going to kill Jason!" she muttered.

"Why didn't you two ever date?" House asked her curiously.

Cameron laughed. "Because I'd kill him within a week! He's my best friend, we grew up next door to each other. We went out a few times in high school, but we're too comfortable as friends to make it work. Besides, I call him my step-god brother. Because his godfather, is my stepfather," she grinned.

"Cute," House replied sarcastically, and she made a face at him before Jake came to grab her for another dance.

The party finally broke up around midnight, and after Cameron had bid goodbye to everyone, and made plans with her family, Jason and Joe and Sarah, she left with the PPTH team.

"So, what time does your plane leave tomorrow?" Cuddy asked House.

"Ten o'clock," Stacy answered for him. "We're leaving at eight in the morning, if I can get Greg up in time."

"I don't see why we have to be there so early," House complained.

Cameron laughed, shifting her huge bags of gifts from one hand to the other. "I feel sorry for you, Stacy. Having to sit next to him all the way to Germany?" she, Chase and Foreman all winced at the thought.

"I'll miss you too, Princess," House said to her sarcastically and she glared at him.

"My dad is the only one who can call me that. While we've established tonight you could be my dad, that doesn't give you permission to use my nicknames. Ok?"

House shuddered. "I was fourteen when you were born, how scary is that?"

"Scary," Cameron and Wilson countered in unison. She grinned at his expression. "Good luck, House. You too, Stacy. I'll see you guys on Monday, right?"

She bid farewell to everyone, and headed to her car; as the others all went their separate ways, bidding farewell to House and Stacy.

House and Stacy headed to her car and hopped inside. "I've got to finish packing tonight," she said quietly as they drove away.

"Yeah, me too." House nodded shortly.

They drove to his townhouse in silence, where House quickly kissed her goodnight, and headed inside. In truth, he was already packed, but he needed peace and quiet to collect his thoughts and prepare himself mentally for the next three months. He poured himself a glass of scotch, and sat down at his piano, softly beginning to play a random tune. He stopped abruptly as he realised the tune was "How do I live?" the song Cameron had sung that night. He froze, his mind's eye fixed on Cameron's appearance that night and then shook the image off; switching tunes to a classic Mozart composition.

Twenty minutes later, there was a tentative knock at the door, making House frown in confusion. The only two people who ever visited him both had keys, so he wasn't sure who it could be, especially at this late hour. He swung open the door, and was startled to see a nervous Cameron on the other side, a small gift bag in her hands.

"Hi," she said, smiling slightly.

"Hey," he replied cautiously, stepping back to let her in. She was still in her dress from the party, and he couldn't help subtly admiring her long bare legs as he shut the door.

"I know it's really late, and I didn't want to bug you and Stacy," she began apologising but he cut her off.

"Stacy's at her place, packing. I couldn't sleep yet," he explained.

Cameron looked surprised at this, but continued. "Right, of course...uh," she gestured to the bag in her hands. "I got you something... for tomorrow. I was going to give it to you before, but I left it in my car and then I was just going to put outside the door, but I saw the light on.... I wanted you to have it before you left, so... here," she was rambling as she handed him the bag, and House could see how nervous she was.

"Geez, Cameron relax. What have I told you about the clenching?" He rolled his eyes at her, as he opened the bag and pulled out a small stuffed pig.

Cameron saw him frown at it in confusion and jumped in to explain. "It probably doesn't make much sense to you... when I was sixteen, I got mono and my mom bought me the pig, because I'd always loved _Charlotte's Web _and she couldn't find a stuffed spider. She said it was to make me feel better, and then when I met Alex and he told me about the cancer... I gave him Wilbur- the pig- to take to chemo and radiation sessions for the same reason. And he..." Cameron willed herself not to cry as she continued.

"Alex wasn't expected to live as long as he did. And he used to say it was the magic of Charlotte, working through Wilbur. So, I thought I'd give him to you for the operation and rehab."

House was silent, and she interpreted his silence as ridicule of her gesture. Cameron silently kicked herself, but couldn't stop her mouth from rambling, as his increasing silence made her nervous.

"You probably think I'm a total idiot, and that's it's really stupid, but I thought I should get you _something _ but I couldn't think of anything, except those really corny 'good luck' or 'get well' teddy bears. I mean, you don't have to take it, I mean it is just a toy pig and-"

That was all she got out before House took one giant step towards her, put one hand on the back of her neck and drew her lips to his, hard. She couldn't even let out the gasp of surprise she wanted to, as his tongue eased into her mouth, and her arms wound around his shoulders of their own accord. It was only their desperate need for air that eventually separated them, and when they did Cameron took a huge step back, breathing heavily. Her lips were slightly swollen and he hair was mussed, her eyes bright. House swallowed hard and stared awkwardly at Wilbur, lying on the floor.

"I- I- I should go," Cameron said finally, her voice hoarse.

"Yeah, right. Ok," House nodded awkwardly.

Cameron opened the door, and turned back at the last second. "Good luck, House."

"Yeah," he replied, but not until the door was closed behind her.


	4. The Face You See

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good.**

**Chapter 4: The face you see**

House lay in his room at the hospital in Berlin, waiting for the doctors to take him through to the operating room. He had been in Germany for three days now, and they had been an endless craze. He had thrown Wilbur into his carry-on bag at the last minute, as Stacy placed his suitcases in his car the morning they'd left. As they flew over the ocean, Stacy had opened his bag looking for tissues and found him on top.

"What is this?" she'd laughed, pulling him out.

House stared at her unfocused for a moment, before replying. "Cameron gave it to me. Some sentimental good luck thing, or whatever."

Stacy had automatically tightened her lips and replaced the pig, pulling out the tissues. "When did she give you that?"

"Last night," House muttered, putting on headphones to watch the movie.

When they'd landed and collected their luggage, they'd gone and checked Stacy into her hotel and House into the hospital, where they'd met the doctors. Stacy left Wilbur in his backpack, and House, upon finding it, had sat him on his dresser. After the operation, he would remain in hospital for a week, before moving to the rehab clinic for the next three months.

John and Blythe had arrived that morning, and were with Stacy now in the cafeteria. And now here he was, lying in bed and staring at Wilbur. Every night since his arrival, he had gone to sleep picturing Cameron's face after their kiss. Her expression had been one of surprise and confusion but not regret which for some unknown reason, encouraged House. The arrival of the nurses interrupted his musings, and they wheeled him off to the operating room, and his parents and Stacy wished him luck. As the anaesthesias prepared to administer the sedative, his last conscious thought was of what Cameron was doing now. 'Stupid Wilbur," he thought, and blacked out.

At that moment, Cameron was in the midst of chaos, known as the PPTH ER. She was doing three things at once, and dashing about with a pile of files in her arms, when she suddenly turned and literally, ran into Wilson.

"Oh, god! Sorry, Wilson," she apologised, bending to pick up the files and their contents that had fallen on the floor during the collision.

"It's fine," he laughed as he got down on the floor to help her. Suddenly, he frowned and caught her arms, forcing her to look at him.

"Cameron, are you ok?" he asked in concern. Cameron's face was drained of colour, and she had large, dark circles under her eyes.

She smiled thinly at him, standing up again. "Yeah, fine. Having a clumsy day, that's all."

Wilson raised an eyebrow. "I meant, as a whole, are you okay? You don't look so good. If one day running the ER does this to you, I wouldn't want to see you at the end of the three months."

Cameron sighed, massaging her temples and took a shaky breath. "No, I'm not so good. There's... a lot going on."

Wilson was worried now. "Ok, do you have time for a coffee break?"

She laughed dryly. "I haven't even had lunch yet. It's been crazy here all day."

He took the files off her, and handed them to a passing nurse. "Dr. Cameron is taking an hour lunch now. Anything less urgent than a three car-pile up, don't page her. Got it?"

The nurse nodded, as Wilson led a protesting Cameron out of the ER and to the cafeteria. They took their lunches outside to enjoy the last of the afternoon sun, and Wilson looked at her expectantly. "Ok, talk. What's going on?"

Cameron sighed, inwardly reflecting it would be good to finally tell someone. "The other night... my birthday... I got home after the party and brought all my presents inside and everything, and then realised I'd forgotten to give House this... thing. My stuffed toy pig, it's a long story, but there's this old joke that it has magic powers for the sick, so I thought I'd give it to House. So, I took it over and Stacy wasn't there and I gave him the pig... and he kissed me."

Wilson choked on a mouthful of coffee. "He _what?" _

Cameron nodded. "Yeah, and it was a full on kiss too... and then it was incredibly awkward, and I went home."

"Ok," Wilson said slowly and she buried her head in her hands.

"I haven't slept in three nights... I can't stop thinking about it, and what he meant by it... expect knowing House, he probably didn't mean anything by it... god! And then I'm trying to mentally calculate the time difference between here and Berlin, which is hard when you haven't slept.. And wondering if he'd had the surgery yet, and what he's doing, and what he's thinking..."

She was on the verge of tears and Wilson rubbed her arm in comfort. "Hey, Allison... it'll be okay," he said soothingly.

"How? I'm trying to keep busy so I don't think about it, but I don't think it's working."

Wilson hesitated. "Cameron, do you still have feelings for him?"

Cameron looked up at him, tears running slowly down her face, which she wiped away impatiently. "Honestly? I can't tell. For four years, it's just been these constant mind games... I don't know. And it doesn't matter anything, because he's with Stacy. And that's another reason I can't stop thinking about it. He's in a relationship! And I kissed him, which means he cheated on Stacy. With me. I've never done anything like this before! And I just keep hearing my Dad's speech from the party, saying that they're so proud of me because I have good morals and a big heart... how is what I did an example of good morals and a big heart? Or good judge of character, whatever my Dad said."

Wilson sighed, mentally cursing his friend, as he comforted Cameron. "Allison, listen to me. _He kissed you_. You didn't do anything, he made the decision to follow through and you reacted emotionally. It's the natural reaction. And your Dad is right. If you didn't have good morals and a big heart, you wouldn't be stressing over this. You need to just distract yourself, until House comes back and then either you'll talk, or ignore the issue. You can't lose sleep over it, especially not for the next three months. You'll need every bit of focus and energy for the ER, trust me."

Cameron sighed, and a small smile spread over her face, her body instantly reacting. "You're right, Wilson. I'm totally being a basket case, aren't I? Sorry to dump this all on you," she apologised.

"Forget it. That's what friends are for," he smiled.

He changed the direction to a lighter topic and at the end of the hour, she bid him goodbye, and made her way back to the ER.

"Hi, Cuddy," she greeted the Dean of Medicine, who was just leaving the clinic.

"Hello, Dr. Cameron. How's the ER going?"

"Good. Busy," she smiled.

Cuddy nodded. "That's good. Not for the patient's, of course..."

"I get it," Cameron laughed, reassuringly. "What's the flier?" she asked, referring to the piece of paper in the other woman's hand.

Cuddy held it up. "I'm planning a new benefit for May, two weeks before House comes back. To raise money for a new clinic. I've only just started and it's already frustrating me," she laughed.

Cameron smiled sympathetically. "Do you want some help planning?" she offered.

Cuddy looked relieved. "Would you mind? That would be fantastic!"

"No worries, it'll keep me busy," she laughed.

"Well, if you're sure, why don't we get together for lunch tomorrow and go over the details?" Cuddy suggested.

"Yeah, great. Ok, see you then," Cameron smiled and continued on her way.

Two weeks later, Wilson was in his office, just finishing up a patient's paperwork, when there was a knock on his door.

"Yeah?" he called, and when he looked up his jaw dropped. "Stacy?!"

"Hey, James," she smiled entering the office and shutting the door as he came round the desk to embrace her.

"What are you doing here? House didn't bail on his rehab, did he?"

Stacy shook her head. "No, no. He's at the clinic in Germany, with Blythe and John."

"And you're here," Wilson said pointedly. "Is it work?"

"No..." Stacy cleared her throat. "Greg and I ended it."

Wilson was stunned. "Whoa!"

"Or more specifically, he ended it," she continued.

He was speechless as he sat her down. "Ok, what happened? Did the operation fail?"

She smiled. "No, it worked perfectly. There's no pain, no nothing. They're even going to get him off the Vicodin."

"So, why did he end it?" Wilson was confused.

Stacy actually laughed. "Because he finally realised what I've known since I came back. He's in love with Allison Cameron."

A broad grin of joy and disbelief spread across Wilson's face. "You're kidding?"

She shook her head. "Nope. He's totally head over heels in love with her."

"How did he realise that?" Wilson demanded, then realised he was talking to the woman who had just been dumped. "Oh, sorry."

She shrugged. "Don't be. Since I came back... it just didn't feel right. But of course, Greg being Greg, he pointed out things I didn't even notice."

"Like?"

Stacy sighed wistfully. "That I came back, expecting us to pick up where we left off six years ago, before the leg. And that I somehow thought if the operation worked, I could stop feeling so guilty over causing the leg in the first place. And he's right. I did... I mean, even now, I could never bring myself to touch his scar. Because, it was a reminder. I guess shuddering every time you touch your boyfriend's leg isn't the best ground for a relationship."

"So, he ended it... and what did you do?" Wilson asked cautiously.

She smiled. "I said it was about time he realised that he loved Cameron; and wished him good luck. I stopped off in Paris on my way home, so I can _finally _say I've been... and thought I'd stop by on my way home. Greg didn't call you?"

Wilson shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, Stace."

"Don't be. It just wasn't meant to be." She and Wilson hugged and then she left his office.

Wilson managed to resist until he had gotten home, had dinner, done a load of laundry and half-heartedly done his paperwork before calling House's room in the clinic. It was only seven o'clock there, but he was surprised when House answered almost immediately , his voice alert.

"Guten Tag?"

"House? You're up at seven o'clock in the morning?" Wilson was confused.

"Please, Jimmy. I've been up for an hour. What can I do for you?"

Wilson hesitated. "Uh, Stacy stopped by today. She just got home from Paris."

"Yeah, she said she was going to," House replied casually.

"So, you ended it with her? When?"

"About a week ago."

"Can I ask why?"

"I think you just did," House rolled his eyes, as he moved his bed to a sitting position. "Oh, that's not what you meant. You want the goss, the heart to heart."

"Yeah, and you want to give it to me. Spill!" Wilson ordered.

House sighed slightly. "When Stacy showed up, asking me to come back... Cameron came and saw me. She told me... that you can love as many times as you want, but you only have one great love that changes you once in your lifetime, and if you have a second chance with that person, you should just take it. That's what convinced me to go through with it. I automatically thought Stacy was that person for me."

"And now?" Wilson asked quietly.

"Do you remember that hallucination I had after I got shot?"

"Yes," Wilson said slowly, trying to follow his friend's train of thought.

"Well, in the hallucination, when I woke up the first person I saw was Cameron. And when I woke up after the operation... the first person I wanted to see, was Cameron. All I could see was her face. And I just realised... maybe she's that person for me. The one who changes me."

"So this realisation, came before or after you kissed her?" Wilson asked.

House's jaw dropped. "How do you know about that?"

"Cameron."

This pleased House immensely. "Oh yeah? How's she doing? Is she pining for me?"

Wilson faltered. "Oh, well... she's... she's around."

House frowned. "What the hell does that mean? 'She's around?' How is she?"

"Fine... you know, I've been busy... haven't seen her much..."

Even through a long distance phone call, House could tell when his best friend was avoiding an issue. "Wilson, what's going on with Cameron? Spit it out!"

Wilson sighed, dreading his friend's reaction. "Cameron... was discharged today."

House choked on his own saliva. "What? Discharged? What the hell are you talking about?"

Wilson reluctantly admitted with a deep breath. "Well, she's been a bit... distracted since you've been gone. She's trying to figure out what the hell you were playing at when you stuck your tongue down her throat, and feeling guilty because it happened when you are- or were- in a relationship with another woman. The ER's been hectic and then she's helping Cuddy plan a benefit... all, I might add, in an effort to stop thinking about you... and the other day... she collapsed."

"What?" House practically yelled, and Wilson actually held the phone away from his ear.

"It's not surprising really," Wilson continued, whilst House breathed fire down the line. "She's overworking herself, barely sleeping or eating... her body gave out."

"But she was discharged today, you said? So she's ok?" House demanded.

"She has pneumonia. She wanted to go home, and Cuddy agreed."

"Cuddy agreed to discharge her? She has pneumonia! How is she supposed to take care of herself?" House was furious, which secretly thrilled Wilson.

"House, she's a doctor. She knows what to do, and Chase, Foreman and Cuddy have all agreed with me to call in on her while she recuperates," Wilson said calmly.

House sighed. "This is my fault. I'm coming home!" he announced and Wilson froze.

"Oh, no, no, no. You can't skive on your rehab! Listen, House- she'll be fine. When you come home, you can talk to her then, ok? Maybe use the time to think about what you actually want to say to her?"

House didn't answer, merely growled down the phone, letting Wilson know he agreed, albeit reluctantly. "Good. I'll keep you updated, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever... Hey, Wilson? Do me a favour?"

Wilson smiled. "Sure."

House hung up the phone, and sighed leaning against his pillows as his parents entered the room. "Good morning, sweetheart! How are you today?" Blythe asked him.

"Fine," House said distractedly. "Just got off the phone with Wilson."

"Oh, good. It was good of him to call," John House said as he sat down.

House nodded, his thoughts still on Cameron, so that he almost missed his mother's comment. "I suppose Stacy's home by now?"

House rolled his eyes. "Mom, I know you like Stacy, but there was a reason we ended it."

"A better reason than the last time, I hope," John said bluntly.

"Yeah, actually. I realised there's someone else."

Blythe and John looked horrified. "What? Was it Marc?" Blythe demanded.

House was puzzled, before he realised what his mother was implying. "Not her, Mom! No... I realised I'm in love with someone else."

John grinned, he unlike his wife, had not favoured Stacy. "Good for you, Greg! Who is she?"

House hesitated. "Well... would you guys object if I was with someone... younger?"

"Of course not!" Blythe said immediately. "We just want you to be happy, sweetheart."

"Good to know. Her name's Allison Cameron."

It was John who made the connection first. "Allison Cameron... that young girl that works for you? We met her that time?"

House nodded calmly. "Yeah, that's her."

Blythe now looked worried. "Greg, she's awfully young, isn't she?"

"She's thirty," House protested. "She just looks younger."

His parents were silent as they processed this information. "Well," Blythe said finally. "You'll have to bring her to our anniversary party in August."

House was startled. "Whoa! Ok, first of all- we're not together yet. Secondly, we may not get together at all... I've kind of put her through a lot," he admitted, for the first time having to imagine what he would do if Cameron didn't return his feelings. Although his doubts were small, based on the past four years and their kiss, they were there.

Blythe patted his arm in comfort. "Greg, just tell her how you feel. That's all you can do."

House resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Right."

The next day, Cameron was on her couch watching TV when a knock came on her apartment door. Slowly, she made her way to the door to reveal Wilson clutching a container.

"Hey, Wilson, "she greeted him.

"Hey, what are you doing? You're supposed to be resting?" he chided her.

Cameron laughed. "I was, until I got up to let you in."

"Oh, right." He held the container aloft. "I come bearing soup."

She smiled. "Thanks, just stick it in the microwave."

She returned to the couch as he did so, then casually turned to her and remarked, "I- uh... I spoke to House last night."

Cameron's heart skipped a beat. "Really? How is he?" she asked breathlessly.

"Fine. The operation worked, and he's started rehab. He heard you were sick."

"Oh?"

Wilson grinned at her. "He asked me to pass on a message."

Cameron held her breath. "What?"

"See what happens when you lend out your lucky pig?" came the response, and Cameron laughed, a real laugh, almost allowing herself to hope that her relationship with House could return to normal despite their kiss.

"Typical House," she murmured, and Wilson nodded in silent agreement.


	5. The Thunderstorm

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good. And before anyone points it out, I have noticed that many of my stories feature big yelling matches, but they're really fun to write and add drama, so deal.**

**Chapter 5: The Thunderstorm**

Cameron opened her closet and moved clothes aside to reach the garment bag hanging at the end of the closet. It was early May, and although there was a furious thunderstorm outside, she was dressing to go to the hospital benefit. She had recovered well from her bout of illness, although she still tired easily, and had insisted on coming tonight, although Cuddy, Chase and Foreman all tried to discourage her. Wilson however, agreed it would be good for her to get out, and was picking her up in just under an hour.

Cameron unhung the garment bag and laid it out on the bed. Her hair was in curlers and still damp from her earlier shower, and dressed in her robe she quickly ate a quick dinner before carefully applying her makeup for the evening. Then she removed all the curlers from her hair, and brushed it out, loosely pulling it back with tendrils around her face, and sprayed a touch of perfume on her wrists and neck. With only fifteen minutes to go, she unzipped the bag and stepped into her dress, bought especially for tonight. Her dress was a long flowing strapless dress, in a deep shade of chocolate brown.

She hastily threw on shoes and tossed her keys and cell phone in a small silver clutch as Wilson knocked on the door.

"Hi," she greeted him, stepping out into the hall and locking her door behind her.

Wilson was grinning. "Hi yourself, you look great Allison!"

Cameron chuckled. "Thank you. Come on, I don't want to be late!"

Ten minutes later they arrived at the hospital and Cameron immediately sought out Chase and Foreman, who beckoned them over to their table.

"Nice dress, Cameron," Chase said appreciatively and Cameron flushed.

"Thanks."

The night kicked off with a welcoming speech by Cuddy to the staff and donors, and then dinner was served. Dr. Schafer, who Cameron had been substituting for in the ER had come with her husband and infant daughter, and the two women were talking between the second course and dessert, when Foreman dashed past, stopping to grab her attention.

"Cameron! House is here!"

Cameron immediately whirled around, her heart in her throat. Sure enough, in the doorway talking to Wilson, Cuddy and Chase, dressed in jeans, T-shirt and his bike jacket, was House.

"Excuse me, Fiona," she excused herself from her conversation, standing up and following Foreman to join the group.

"House!" Foreman called when they were within speaking distance, and House looked up saw Foreman and immediately his gaze locked on Cameron. He literally choked on air when he saw her, and she approached cautiously.

"Hi," she said, somewhat breathlessly and he gaped at her for a moment before he was able to speak.  
"Hi. How are you feeling?"

She smiled shyly. "Fine. You?"

"Great."

An awkward silence fell between the two, which only Wilson understood, so Chase broke it quickly. "So, where's Stacy?"

House finally tore his gaze away from Cameron to focus on the others. "She's not here. We broke up after the operation, so she's been home for awhile."

Cameron and Cuddy gaped in surprise, whilst Chase and Foreman nodded sympathetically. Cameron immediately assumed Stacy had ended it after finding out about their kiss, and felt a wave of guilt, which was evident in her voice when she winced. "God, I'm sorry House. Are you okay?"

House knew what she was thinking, and actually smiled at the hope it gave him. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was the one who ended it."

Cuddy was stunned by this. "What? Why?"

House glanced at her, and then directed his gaze back to Cameron. "Because I realised it's not fair to be in a relationship with someone when you're thinking about someone else."

Cameron's jaw dropped as Foreman, Chase and Cuddy followed his gaze to Cameron. "What are you talking about?" she asked nervously.

House completely forgot about the others standing within earshot as he stared captivated at Cameron. "I'm in love with you."

Cameron turned ashen, and gaped at him for a moment, air seemingly clogged in her throat. "I- I'm sorry... I-I can't...excuse me..." she felt herself begin to collapse and pushed past House and Wilson, making a hasty exit to the doorway. House was left staring at the spot where she'd been standing, a look of utter confusion on his face, before he turned and followed her out to the hallway. He found her in the lobby, taking deep breaths, her face in her hands.

"What the hell was that about?" he demanded, startling her.

Cameron looked stunned. "What was that about? What was _that _about?" she retorted.

House rolled his eyes. "I don't know, to _me_ it looked like that was me telling you I'm in love with you, but what do I know?" he shrugged sarcastically.

Cameron still managed to glare at him, despite the fact she could barely think straight. "Why now? We've been doing this- dance for the past four years. Every time I take a step forward, you take two steps back! And now, you just start leading, and I'm expected to know all the steps?"

"Well, I'm sorry but I haven't been 'dancing' in years!" House continued with the metaphor, and his voice began to escalate. "So, yeah it's taken me awhile to pick it up. Cameron, I'm ready now. I couldn't be ready before. When you first walked into my office for that interview, I thought 'wow, that girl is incredibly beautiful'. And then we had that case with the sick babies, and you got the parents to hold their kid while the nurse changed the sheets. That is the exact moment I fell in love with you."

Cameron's eyes widened in disbelief. "House-"

"But I thought you deserved more than a man who was crippled and twice your age. The more I tried, I couldn't get over you. And I've realised now, I'm done trying. I don't want to spend any more time wondering what might have been."

House was startled when Cameron's eyes flashed with anger. "You thought I deserved more, so you pushed me away for four years?" she demanded.

She was so angry, she could barely speak, and took a deep breath to try and control her emotions. "House, I met my husband a week after he'd been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. We dated for four months before he proposed, we were married two months after that, and we were married for six months. The _entire _time we were together, from the day he told me that he was dying, he was trying to make me leave. The night he _proposed _he asked if I was sure I wanted to marry him, knowing he was dying. Knowing that we couldn't have a future together."

Cameron had tears in her eyes as she relived some of her most painful memories. "I am _sick _of people who supposedly _love me_, making decisions about what's best for me, without consulting me. I'm done believing people who make promises they can't guarantee they can keep. I am _done_ falling for people, who then push me away, and yet expect me to keep waiting around. I- I'm just done."

With that, Cameron turned and left the lobby, heading outside where it was still pouring down. House's eyes narrowed, his temper rising. He was faintly aware of a small crowd standing in the lobby entranceway, transfixed on the scene before them, but he paid them no mind as he followed Cameron outside. He knew Cameron had come with Wilson, so wasn't exactly sure where she was going, but followed her nonetheless.

"Hey!" he yelled angrily over the rain when he was within earshot, but she ignored him.

"Cameron!" he called, and again was ignored.

"Allison Elizabeth Cameron-Mackenzie!!"

This Cameron couldn't ignore and she whirled around to face him, just in time for him to grab her arm and keep her from moving away.

"Listen to me!" he commanded. "You're right. I shouldn't make promises I can't guarantee. I can't promise a happily ever after, or that there won't be times we won't want to kill each other. But I love you, and I've never been able to say that without feeling trapped before. But I don't when I say it to you."

Cameron shook her head, oblivious to the fact they were both getting soaked and tried to pull away, but House's grip was firm.

"When Stacy first came back, you said to me that everyone has _one_ great love. A love that changes them. You told me, you'd take even another _second_ with your husband in a heartbeat. That is exactly the kind of thing I feel for you. If there was even a chance of a life with you, I'd take it. Even if the idea scares me to death. I don't want to have any more regrets. And I already have enough about you."

There was a mixture of tears and rain on Cameron's face as she answered him, House straining to hear her answer through the rain. "I can't risk getting hurt again for _maybe_ a lifetime House. I don't have it in me."

Stunned, he slackened his grip on her arm and she took the opportunity to walk away. She hadn't taken more than a few steps when he was behind her, catching her from behind and whispering in her ear.

"I'll walk away right now, and we can both pretend this night never happened," House swore, though his heart was breaking to say it.

"If," he added, turning her around to face him. "You can look me in the eyes, and tell me there's no part of you that doesn't want this; and there's no chance in hell you could ever love me."

Cameron choked on a dry sob, as she slowly lifted her blue-gray eyes to meet his cobalt blue. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Finally, she swallowed and managed to choke out words barely legible through the heavy downpour.

"I- I never stopped loving you," she said brokenly.

That was all House needed to hear, and he lowered his head to hers and pulled her into him. Their lips met fiercely and Cameron immediately pressed her rain-soaked body as close to his as she could manage. His hands were running through her tangled hair, and all requirements for oxygen were forgotten as they gave in to their building desires of the past four years, and all their tensions from the past three months.

"Well, I'll be damned," Foreman said, grinning as half the hospital staff witnessed House and Cameron's first kiss.

Chase and several of the nurses seemed shell-shocked, and Cuddy turned to Wilson accusingly, who was grinning like the cat who had swallowed the canary.

"You knew he was coming back two weeks early! That's why you said Cameron should come!" she said accusingly.

He nodded. "Yeah."

Cuddy sighed and laughed. "Good work."

They were all transfixed by the sight, and finally Cuddy tugged on Wilson's sleeve. "Ok, go get them now."

Wilson scoffed. "You want me to go interrupt their make-out session and be killed? Why?"

"Mostly because it's pouring rain out there, and I have one doctor who's just been on a three month vacation; and another doctor recovering from pneumonia," Cuddy replied and Wilson groaned.

"Ok, ok. Let me just get an umbrella. I don't fancy the soaked-to-the-skin look they do."

Wilson walked towards House and Cameron, who were still entwined in one another's grasp, trying to make as much noise as possible to alert them to his presence. However, he still had to clear his throat twice before they separated.

"Little busy here, Jimmy," House called not looking at his friend and Cameron giggled.

Wilson sighed. "House, I should point out that it's cold and wet out here, and your girlfriend is still recovering from pneumonia and her wardrobe choices aren't designed for wet weather?"

House finally pulled away and looked up. "It's raining," he remarked sounding surprised.

Cameron looked up too. "Right..."

House then noticed Cameron was shivering and pulled off his jacket to put around her shoulders. "Here, you don't want to get sick again."

Wilson smiled softly and gestured, handing them the larger umbrella he had brought out. "Here. Come on, you can make out inside."

Cameron blushed furiously as House put up the umbrella and the three headed back towards the hospital.

"Oh, you guys?" Wilson asked as they walked.

"Yeah?" House looked at his friend.

"It's about damn time," Wilson responded laughing, and House couldn't help shoving his friend lightly.

Cuddy met the couple at the door with a wide smile and towels to dry off. House accepted the towels, and led Cameron to an exam room. He shut the door behind them, turned on the light, before cupping her face gently in his hands and kissing her.

"I love you," he told her sincerely, looking into her eyes when they'd separated.

A brilliant smile spread over Cameron's face, and she chuckled softly. "I love you," she answered, and House folded her into his arms.

"So, how much longer do we have to stay at this thing?" he murmured and she laughed.

"As much as I'd like to say that we can leave right now, probably half an hour at the least."

House groaned, kissed her again and sighed. "Fine. But not a minute longer."

"Deal," she agreed.

Sure enough, approximately half an hour later, Cameron and House bid goodnight to Wilson and the others, and headed out to House's car. He had arrived from Germany, caught a cab home, dumped his luggage and gone straight to the hospital. Now, they drove back to Cameron's apartment, where she let them in and suddenly self-conscious, switched on the coffee pot.

"You should go get changed," House told her. "So you don't get sick."

"What about you?" she protested.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not the one recovering from pneumonia." He pushed her gently towards her bedroom. "Go!"

She complied, and hurriedly changed into sweatpants and a tank top, a long-sleeved woollen wrap around cardigan over the top. When she came out, she was pleasantly surprised to find House had made the coffee, which they drank in silence. As she nervously rinsed their empty mugs, House came up behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder, his hands securely around her waist.

"What have I told you about clenching?" he muttered and she giggled sheepishly, blushing.

"Sorry. It's just... it's still a little weird. After everything..."

"I know." House sighed. "Have you ever given a Sex Ed talk?"

Cameron was startled by the strange topic change, but went with it. "Yeah, as an intern at the Mayo Clinic. Why?"

"What's the first thing that you tell all the awkward teens?"

Cameron thought it over and rolled her eyes in understanding. "That sex is the most natural thing in the world, and there's nothing to be awkward about."

"Exactly." House began to plant soft kisses on her neck and up her jaw towards her mouth. "So relax... and let nature take its course."

Cameron smiled as he kissed her again, and began to lead her backwards to her bedroom. House awoke the next morning with bright sunlight streaming through the windows. He blinked adjusting and looked around the room. For a second, his sleep-addled brain couldn't place where he was, until he looked next to him, and smiled softly to see Cameron sleeping soundly firmly wrapped within his embrace. His heart melted as he watched her sleep, and finally he could bear it no longer and gently pressed his lips to hers. It was only seconds before she returned the kiss, and House reluctantly broke the kiss off before he deepened it so he could look at her.

"Hey," he murmured, smoothing her hair back off her face.

"Hi," she replied softly, seeming perfectly content.

"Sleep okay?"

She nodded. "You? Any jet lag?"

"Nope."

Cameron moved to lay her head on his bare chest and they stayed like that for a while, House's fingers playing in her hair, until he broke the silence.

"Do you have plans for today?"

Cameron thought about it and shook her head. "I suppose at some point this weekend I should go grocery shopping, so I don't starve, but other than that, no. You?"

House snorted. "I'm still supposed to be in Germany, remember? Although, I have to call my mom... let her know how things went."

Cameron looked up at him in surprise. "Your mom knows about us?"

"Of course she does," House answered.

"What did you tell her?"

"The truth. That I was in love with this incredible woman, and I can't live without her any longer."

He felt Cameron's smile widen, and she sighed happily as his grip tightened on her. "I love you," she said softly.

House smiled. "I love you too."

The first Monday morning after the benefit, Cameron woke up when her alarm went off at six-thirty, as per usual. However, this Monday morning, as she made to get out of bed, there was a strong arm around her waist to stop her.

"Where do you think you're going?" House mumbled sleepily.

Cameron laughed quietly, and kissed his cheek softly. "Good morning. It's Monday. People tend to go to work on Mondays."

House raised his head to squint at the clock. "At six-thirty two in the morning?"

"We don't all wander in between nine and eleven," she teased him. "I'm in the office at seven-thirty."

"You're insane!" House mumbled, pulling her towards him. "Chase and Foreman come at eight-thirty. Be like them."

"If I go in at eight-thirty, I won't get a chance to answer your mail," she reminded him. "Come on, it's my first day back after the ER. You're still on vacation, aren't you?"

House's eyes flew open. "Oh, yeah. But how can I have a vacation if you're at work?"

Cameron laughed. "You'll manage. I'll put the coffee on, and then I'm going to shower. You can go back to sleep."

But House was awake now. "No, I'll come with you," he declared and Cameron smiled knowingly.

By seven, Cameron and House were both dressed and in her kitchen drinking coffee, whilst House inspected her cupboards. "You have no breakfast food."

Cameron grinned. "Well, I didn't get a chance to go grocery shopping, did I? Besides, I don't eat breakfast."

House startled. "What do you mean you don't eat breakfast?"

She shrugged. "I'm not that hungry in the mornings. I eat brunch around eleven instead."

"Geez, what kind of doctor are you?" House mumbled. "Thank goodness you're not a nutritionist!"

She swatted his arm playfully as she rinsed her mug and collected her things for work. "So, did you decide what you're going to do today?"

"Yeah, I was thinking I'd come hang out with you today," he replied seriously. He stared at her as she laughed. "What? I can't hang out at my place of employment with my really hot girlfriend when I'm on vacation?"

"I don't think many people do," she replied, but her eyes were shining. "Ok, then. I'm leaving as soon as I brush my teeth."

House nodded. "On the way home, we're stopping at the grocery store!" he called after her.

When they arrived at the hospital, House stopped her as she began to head inside. "I'll meet you in there. I'll walk down to _Krispy Kremes_ and buy some doughnuts for breakfast."

Cameron grinned and nodded. "Ok. Very nutritious."

House merely kissed her lightly and walked off. Cameron entered the hospital and saw Cuddy at the reception desk in the lobby talking to one of the nurses.

"Morning Cuddy!" she said brightly.

Cuddy seemed surprised to see her. "Cameron! You're here early, aren't you?"

"No earlier than usual," Cameron replied, confused.

The nurse at the desk handed Cameron a stack of mail. "I think most of that's for Diagnostic's, but I'd check it through. A new girl handed the mail today," she warned.

Cameron nodded and began to go through the large stack of letters, whilst talking to Cuddy about the benefit. She was three-quarters of the way through when she felt House come up behind her and she instinctively leaned into him.

"I come bearing doughnuts," he announced, showing her the large box. "Is all that for me?"

Cameron nodded, glancing at the box. "That's a lot of doughnuts."

"What the boys don't eat, we can take home tonight," House replied and Cuddy finally recovered from the surprise of seeing House at the hospital enough to interrupt.

"Home? You guys are living together already?"

"No, of course not," House rolled his eyes. However, they offered no further explanation and Cuddy pressed forward.

"House, aren't you still on vacation? What are you doing here?"

"Just hanging. Don't worry, I'm not planning on working," he assured her.

"Do you ever?" she retorted and Cameron snorted.

House pinched her bottom in retaliation and grabbed the mail off her, leading the way to the elevators. "See ya Cuddy!" he called over his shoulder, and Cuddy smiled to notice one hand was firmly on Cameron's hip.


	6. Mother's Intuition and Memories

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good.**

**Chapter 6: Mother's intuition and Memories**

The staff of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital were all in agreement. None of them had ever witnessed a relationship like that of Allison Cameron and Greg House. For one thing, House, never one for public displays of affection, now seemed to spend most of his time with his tongue down Cameron's throat, and his hands firmly on her waist, hips, or if they were sitting, on her upper thigh. The nursing staff were describing their interlude from the night of the benefit as "the most romantic scene in history"; and the staff knew if ever House had to be reached outside the hospital, he was usually at Cameron's. There were very few nights the two didn't spend together, mostly at Cameron's apartment. Chase and Foreman also learnt very quickly within two weeks of their relationship to always knock before entering House's office, after interrupting several make-out sessions between the two, much to Cameron's embarrassment.

For his part, House was surprised by how natural it was for him to display his affection for Cameron in public. He was completely besotted by her and Blythe and John were thrilled for their son. The couple had been together for only three weeks, when Amanda Hunter entered the conference room, looking not for her daughter, but for House.

"Allison's in the clinic," he told her after greeting her and offering her coffee.

Amanda nodded. "That's fine. I'm here to see you actually."

House grimaced. "Oh. Right."

He led her into his office and sat down and Amanda sat opposite him, her expression serious. "I'm only going to say this once, Greg, so pay attention. You hurt my daughter in _any_ way, and I will kill you."

House's eyebrows rose in shock, but he recovered quickly. "Amanda, I have no intention of hurting her," he said reassuringly, but she nodded tightly through thin lips.

"Right. See, my problem is, you've _never_ had the intention of hurting her; no one has ever had the _intention_ of hurting her; yet somehow, she always ends up broken hearted. I remember every time in the last four years I've received a phone call from my daughter crying over you, and it's not a pleasant experience. Allie's never been one to cry over boys. She cried when she realised she'd fallen in love with Alex who was dying, but that was it. Until she met you. If I get one more phone call from my baby girl in tears..."

"Understood," House cut her off before she could finish her threat. "Amanda, I really love her. I'm not saying it'll always be perfect, but I'll never hurt her."

Amanda regarded him for a moment, then nodded. They both looked up when the door opened and Cameron entered, a pile of charts in her hands.

"Mom!" she exclaimed happily. "Oh my god! What are you doing here?"

Amanda beamed as she embraced her daughter. "I had to see some clients and thought I'd drop by. I'm only here for the night, though. Got time for a coffee, sweetie?"

Cameron nodded. "Sure. I just need Greg to sign these, then I'm good. Why don't you wait outside? I'll only be a sec."

Amanda nodded. "Sure, hon. Nice seeing you, Greg."

"Yeah, you too," House replied.

She left and Cameron handed her boyfriend the pile of charts, a smile on her face. "I can't believe my mom's here! Maybe we can all go out for dinner tonight?"

House nodded. "Sure. I'll make reservations while you're out," he said distractedly, mentally reviewing what Amanda had said about her daughter crying over him.

"Thanks," she smiled. Cameron bent down and kissed his cheek before heading for the door.

"Allison?" House called her back, standing up and meeting her halfway.

"Yeah?"

House bent his head and kissed her with a kiss that left her dizzy. "I love you."

She beamed. "I love you too. I'll be back soon," she promised and left the office.

Amanda had left the office and was leaning against the opposite wall to wait for Cameron, when Wilson passed.

"Amanda?"

"Oh, hi Dr. Wilson. How are you?" Amanda smiled.

"Good thanks. You?"

"Fine, fine. I just stopped by to visit Allie. She's been sounding so happy whenever I talk to her lately."

Wilson smiled. "I still can't believe they're finally together. Or how much she's changed House already."

Amanda's curiosity peaked. "Oh? I asked Allison how it happened, and all I got was a 'oh, he came back from Germany and we talked and decided to have a go at it.' Not big on the details."

Wilson laughed. "Are you kidding? That's like summarizing a three-hour movie into one sentence or 25 words or less."

Amanda smiled. "So how did it happen?"

He grinned. "Just keep in mind the nurses tell it much better than I do."

Amanda chuckled. "Duly noted. Should I have popcorn?"

Wilson paused. "I wouldn't recommend it in case you choke. Basically, House turned up at our benefit three weeks ago, two weeks earlier than he was supposed to. He just shows up to a black tie event in jeans and his leather jacket, and announces he broke up with his girlfriend three months prior because he realised he was in love with your daughter. She turns ashen, runs outside, where of course he follows where they proceed to yell at each other for five minutes. Ends up with half the party staring out the windows watching them make out in the rain."

Amanda was stunned. "Wow... Allison's version was not that detailed," she sighed.

Wilson laughed again, and through the door, they saw House kiss Cameron lovingly, and Wilson smiled as the sight. "Amanda, I've known House a long time... and I have never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at your daughter."

Amanda watched her daughter and House with a lump in her throat, any doubts about House's feelings for Cameron long gone.

One day in July, the team was treating a patient and Foreman and Cameron were running an MRI in comfortable silence, when Foreman suddenly remarked,

"I have to say, it's nice to be talking to you without House glued to your side... or his tongue down your throat."

"Foreman!" Cameron protested, blushing and laughing at the same time.

He grinned at his friend. "Sorry, just teasing. Where is House, anyway?"

"Cuddy's locked him in the clinic," she replied, watching the scan and sighing.

Foreman noticed and frowned. "You've been kinda quiet the last few days. Is everything ok with you and House?"

She smiled gratefully at him. "Yeah, everything's great. It's just... next Wednesday... is my wedding anniversary."

Foreman's eyes widened. "Oh. What does House say?"

"I haven't told him," she admitted. "I think he still feels... threatened by Alex? Or his memory, or whatever..."

"So what's the problem?" Foreman asked.

Cameron shrugged. "This is the first year I've ever been in a new relationship. This is the first relationship I've been in since Alex... I just don't know how to handle that."

"Well, how do you usually deal with it?"

She sighed. "I get through my day and spend all night in tears looking at my wedding pictures."

Foreman sighed. "Cameron..."

"It's okay," she cut him off. "Really. It's just my way of grieving. It's the one day I let myself fall apart. Otherwise I'd be a basket case."

"You should tell House," Foreman told her, but Cameron shook her head.

"No. Like I said, he still feels weird about the fact I have a dead husband. And the emotional wreck side of me is something that shouldn't be seen this early in a relationship," she laughed.

Nothing Foreman said could change her mind, and finally she asked him to drop the subject and keep it to himself, to which he reluctantly agreed.

The following Wednesday morning, House awoke suddenly as his arm stretched to the other side of the bed and found it empty. Confused, he got up and found Cameron sitting on the couch in her pyjamas deep in thought.

"Hey," he said softly and she jumped.

"Hi."

"You're up early," he observed.

She nodded. "I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. There's coffee on," she offered.

House frowned. "Are you okay? You're eyes are all red."

Cameron shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm going to go have a shower."

House puzzled over her strange behaviour all the way into the hospital and most of the morning. She seemed to be acting normal with Chase and Foreman, but oddly distant with him. About ten o'clock, she stuck her head in his office.  
"Hey, Cuddy just called. The clinic's packed, so I'm going to go down and help. Okay?"

"Sure," he agreed. "I love you," he added but she was already gone and didn't seem to hear.

She was gone all day, finally reappearing when the clinic shut its doors at five.

"Finally!" he exclaimed as she entered. "Grab your stuff, we'll pick up Chinese on the way back to your place."

Cameron hesitated, thankful Chase and Foreman weren't in the room and winced apologetically. "Greg, I've got a really bad headache. Do you mind if we take a raincheck?"

House was stung, but tried to act casual. "Sure, no worries. Wilson mentioned a game on tonight anyway; he'll take me home," he lied.

Cameron nodded, collected her things and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow," she told him and left the office.

House immediately went next door to Wilson's office and sat on his couch in silence, which worried Wilson.

"House? Are you okay?"

"I think Cameron's avoiding me," he said quietly, and Wilson was stunned.

"Why? What did you do?"

"Nothing!" House replied in exasperation, then paused. "At least, I don't think so... god, how did I stuff this up already?"

Wilson paused, seeing his friend was purely in agony and sighed, unsure what to say.

As the clock in the conference room hit five-thirty, Chase and Foreman were on their way out the door when Chase noticed House's bag still on his desk.

"Hey, House is still here! Didn't Cameron go home half an hour ago?"

Foreman sighed slightly. "Yeah. He's probably with Wilson. I'll let him know we're going, and see you tomorrow."

"Sure. See ya," Chase nodded and headed towards the elevator whilst Foreman tapped on Wilson's door.

"Yeah?" came the call and Foreman cautiously entered. He saw Wilson sitting at his desk, and House stretched out on the couch, one hand over his eyes.

"Uh, House? Chase and I are heading off."

"Ok," House replied, no bite in his tone, which was the final push Foreman needed to break his word to Cameron.

"Look," he sighed, entering further into the room. "Cameron didn't want me to say anything, but I know why she was a little off today."

House's eyes flew open. "Why?"

Foreman paused slightly. "Today's her wedding anniversary. This is the first year she's been in a relationship since her husband, and she didn't want to bother you with it."

House gaped at him, Cameron's behaviour suddenly making sense. "Crap," he cried, jumping up and dashing out of Wilson's office, leaving him and Foreman behind.

House grabbed his bag, and then dashed back to the hall to meet Foreman. "I need you to take me to Cameron's-fast," he ordered who nodded wordlessly.

"Sure."

The two men hurried out to Foreman's car, where he drove as fast as he could to Cameron's building. There, House muttered his gratitude as he was halfway out of the car and sprinted inside the building and up the stairs to Cameron's apartment. He hastily used his key to unlock the door and then paused, tossing his bag onto the couch. The living room was dark and lifeless, no sound or movement. On a hunch, House headed down the hall to her bedroom, and slowly opened the door.

Cameron was lying on the bed in the foetal position, her wedding album open on the bed in front of her, and at the sound of the door opening, she jumped slightly and looked up at House.

"Are you okay?" he asked her uncertainly.

Cameron nodded, but even as she did, her shoulders shook and she broke down in fresh sobs shaking her head. In a second, House was next to her, rocking her slowly back and forth in his firm embrace as she sobbed desperately. No words were spoken, but Cameron clung to him with all her strength until all her tears were gone.

"You should have told me," House whispered in her ear when she had stopped crying and she shook her head.

"I know you feel weird about Alex, and this is my problem, not yours."

House gripped her tighter if that was in any way possible. "I love you," he said strongly. "Your problems _are_ my problems, and Alex is _not_ a problem. He was your husband, and you are _always_ allowed to miss him. Got it?"

Cameron nodded wordlessly, finally turning to look at him. "I'm sorry, I was awful today," she said hoarsely and he shook his head in protest.

"No, you weren't. It's okay... everything's okay."

He kissed her forehead softly and then looked her in the eyes. "You can't keep me out of this. Promise me you'll talk to me about this stuff next time."

Cameron nodded silently and pressed her forehead against his. "December eighth. It's the anniversary of his death."

House nodded and kissed her again. "Ok."

She sighed heavily and moved from his embrace, closing her album and placing it carefully on the floor. "Do me a favour?"

"Sure."

Cameron looked up at him, her eyes full of anguish and pain. "Make love to me?" she whispered and House couldn't say no.

"Always," he said hoarsely as he pulled her to him, his mouth moving towards hers.


	7. Meet the Parents

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good.**

**Chapter 7: Meet the Parents**

"Does this look ok?" Cameron asked nervously, coming out of her bedroom and twirling around for her boyfriend's inspection.

House whistled in admiration as he took her in. "Ok, I vote we stay here!" he replied, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Ok, honestly I don't know why I bother."

"What? I said you look good!" he protested.

"No," she grinned at him. "You were suggesting we stay here and have sex. You'd want to do that no matter what I was wearing."

House smiled as he took her in his arms and kissed her. "Allison, you look perfect. Relax!"

Cameron sighed nervously and pulled away, unnecessarily straightening her white sundress. "I can't," she fretted. "I haven't had to meet anyone's parents in ten years!"

"And my parents have already met you, remember?"

Cameron laughed and returned to his arms. "I'd forgotten that. Even if I wasn't their son's girlfriend then. Ok, grab the present and let's go. We've got a long drive."

House followed her out of the apartment as she grabbed her shoulder bag and sunglasses, smiling fondly at her. They reached her car, House got in the driver's seat and turned on the stereo and pulled away as Cameron pulled out a book.

The two were driving down to Lexington, North Carolina to celebrate Blythe and John House's golden wedding anniversary. Blythe had insisted her son bring Cameron, so the family could finally meet her, and Cameron had been stressing over it for a week. It was a beautiful August weekend, and House enjoyed the warmth and comfortable silence of the car as he drove. The two were going to be spending the weekend in Lexington, which Cameron had had to convince House to agree to but they had got there in the end.

Cameron was re-reading Stephanie Meyers' _Twilight _in an attempt to settle her nerves, but she quickly found within an hour that she just couldn't concentrate. As she let out a frustrated sigh and closed the book, House reached out and lay his hand comfortingly on her thigh.

"Allie, relax. I promise you, they will love you."

Cameron said nothing, but moved her hand to rest on his and he understood. Eventually, they reached Lexington and pulled into the driveway of a gorgeous house in the suburbs, that left Cameron breathless as House pulled the car to a stop and grabbed their luggage out of the trunk.

"Greg, this is incredible!" she said softly.

House frowned up at the house and shrugged. "Oh, I guess. Come on."

He gripped her hand tightly as he led her up the porch and through the front door, carefully depositing their bags at the foot of the stairs.

"Hello?" he called as he entered the kitchen, and Cameron balked slightly as all five women crowded into the kitchen turned to look at her.

"Hey, Mom Happy Anniversary," House smiled tightly as Blythe came over to embrace her son, and he quickly pulled Cameron's hand forward.

"Mom, this is Allison. Allison, my mom who you've met."

Blythe could tell her son's girlfriend was nervous and greeted her warmly. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Allison. Properly, I mean. Now that Greg's finally come to his senses."

Cameron blushed shyly. "Thank you, it was really nice of you to invite me. Your house is beautiful."

"Oh thank you, dear. And it was no trouble at all to invite you. At least it gets Greg here, otherwise I'm sure he would have had a sudden work-related emergency this weekend."

Cameron laughed knowingly, and Blythe pulled her away from House and into the kitchen. "Allison, this is my sister Janine, her daughter Felicity and daughter-in-law Nicola and Felicity's daughter Taylor. Girls, this is Allison- Greg's girlfriend."

Taylor, who didn't seem that much older than Cameron herself shook her hand warmly. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Cameron replied.

Felicity, who, Cameron quickly figured out was House's cousin, shook her hand also and turned to her cousin. "It's about damn time we met your girl, Greg. Otherwise I would have thought it was like when you were ten and tried to convince me and Derek you were dating an Arabian princess."

Cameron whirled around to face her boyfriend, grinning. "Really? An Arabian princess, huh? How'd you score her?"

House shrugged modestly. "My charm, really."

Cameron, Taylor and Felicity all scoffed in unison and House pretended to glare at them. "I'll have you know, if it wasn't a matter of Arabian law, we would have eloped."

"Yeah, but gosh darn it, if only Aladdin and his wretched magic carpet hadn't gotten there first," Cameron teased and Taylor grinned at her.

"I like you even more," she laughed and Cameron laughed too.

"Even if you do have no concept of time. _Aladdin_ came out when I was... crap, twenty-eight!" House seemed horrified at his calculations

"I was fourteen," Cameron mused thoughtfully. "I saw it at the movies three times."

House rolled his eyes. "Regressive childhood, much?"

She made a face at him. "Disney is for any age. That's why they call it a 'family' movie. Besides, that didn't stop you from watching _Meet the Robinsons _DVD twice last night. Regressive childhood, much?" she repeated his own words to him.

House grimaced sheepishly as his mother and cousin raised their eyebrows at him. "It's culturally sophisticated with cool animations... come on, Allie. I'll introduce you to everyone else."

He took her hand and pulled her through the house to the backyard, where a group of men were standing around the barbeque, another group of women sat on lawn chairs at the back of the yard, and a group of small children were running around in the sunshine.

"Hey, Dad," House greeted John as they approached and his father turned from the barbeque to greet them.

"Greg! Good drive?"

"Yeah, fine. Dad, this is Allison Cameron. Allison, you remember my dad?"

Cameron smiled and shook the hand he offered. "Yes, it's nice to see you again."

John nodded warmly. "You too, young lady. Well, Greg don't just stand there. Get the girl a beer and introduce her!" he said to his son.

House suppressed a sigh and went to fetch two beers from the cooler near the door and John winked at Cameron.

"I'm afraid chivalry is on its last legs this day and age, huh?"

Cameron smiled. "The last leg's still holding though."

House returned and handed her a drink, then greeted the other men. "Allison, this is Janine's husband Frank, Felicity's husband Sam, her brother Derek and Taylor's husband Pete. Guys, Allison Cameron."

"Hello," she greeted them all, and then Taylor appeared at her elbow. "Ok, now introductions are out of the way, I'm borrowing your girlfriend, Uncle Greg."

Before House could protest, Taylor led Cameron over to the other side of the yard where there were two women sitting on lawn chairs in the shade watching the children play. "Allison, these are my sisters Riley and Charlie. This is Allison, Uncle Greg's girlfriend."

"Charlie?" Cameron inquired.

Charlie grinned. "Short for Charlotte. I'm not really a fan. It's very... literature-based for someone who doesn't like to read."

"Bronte or _Charlotte's Web?_" Cameron asked and Riley laughed.

"She's never been sure. Any stack of paper with words with a cover scares her. You could say it's her only phobia."

Cameron nodded thoughtfully. "Of course. Bookphobia. Very serious," she replied straight-faced and the girls laughed.

"I knew you'd have to be fun to put up with Greg all the time," Charlie giggled.

Cameron smiled and relaxed into her chair. "So, what do you all do?"

"I'm a police officer," Charlie spoke up. "It's the first career I could think of that didn't involve college or piles of reading."

Riley giggled at her sister's career explanation and shrugged. "I'm still at college, but I graduate next summer. I'm training to be a math teacher."

Cameron was impressed. "Nice. I could never understand math. So, I stuck to reading," she laughed.

"Well, Riley's got the right smarts to understand formulas," Taylor added. "She was Bolton High's Einsteinette."

"Bolton?" Cameron repeated.

"Suburb in Richmond, Virginia," Riley explained. "Where we grew up."

"Where are you from?" Charlie asked her.

"Native Chicago girl," Cameron smiled.

Taylor was impressed. "Nice. Oprah. As for me, I'm just a little old housewife," she shrugged and Charlie snorted.

"Yeah, at the ripe old age of thirty-two!"

Cameron grinned at the three sister's obvious close relationship. "So, is there a big age difference between you all?"

"Taylor's three years older than me, I'm six years older than Riley," Charlie replied. "Do you have any siblings?"

Cameron laughed, confusing the others. "Oh, my family history is... unique. In the short answer, I have an older gay step-brother and his twin sister, two younger half-brothers and a younger half-sister. Then, of course there's my parents and step parents."

Riley was wide-eyed. "Wow! Do they all live in Chicago?"

"Uh, my step-brother is in New Jersey and my step-sister and her husband and kids live in Connecticut. Apart from that, all in Chicago."

Taylor shook her head. "I don't think I could live that far away from my family. It must be hard."

"It is," Cameron admitted. "My mom... is my best friend. So, it's hard sometimes. But I mean, you just-"

"Make your own family," House finished and they all jumped and turned to see him hand Cameron a plate of food and then sit down on the grass beside her with his own plate. "Did you not hear the call dinner was ready like five minutes ago?" he demanded of them.

"Obviously not otherwise we would have beaten you to the food," Cameron replied and he poked her thigh with his fork.

"Don't take our seats, Uncle Greg," Charlie warned as the three girls left to hurriedly grab some food.

"Uncle Greg, huh?" Cameron smiled at him and he frowned.

"Don't go spreading it around. Besides, Felicity started it... some stupid idea that because I'm an only child I need small children looking up to me to stabilise me," he rolled his eyes through a mouthful of food and Cameron giggled as the others returned, three men behind them.

"Allie, this is Charlie's fiancée Ethan and Riley's boyfriend Tom," Taylor introduced them as they and Pete joined House on the grass.

They began to eat in silence until Riley spoke up. "So, Greg... what did you mean by 'you make your own family'?"

Greg swallowed his mouthful before answering. "I like to think the Diagnostic's department has formed our own family, it helps with getting the kiddies to follow the rules."

Cameron raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend. "Kiddies?"

"Not you," House assured her, as though that was her worry. "Chase and Foreman."

"So, what am I?" she replied.

House looked at her as though it should be obvious. "You're the mommy! And I'm the daddy. And then there's weird Uncle Jimmy to amuse and entertain us on a daily basis."

Cameron rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "So, where does Cuddy fit into this?"

"She's the social worker," House replied seriously and Cameron couldn't help but laugh.

"Wait, why does Allison become the mother instead of one of the kiddies?" Riley asked.

"Because the daddy has to be with the mommy, or that's just wrong," House informed her.

Throughout this explanation, the rest of the adults had joined the group and Derek couldn't resist teasing his cousin.

"So, when are Mommy and Daddy going to have kiddies of their own?"

Cameron froze and reddened simultaneously. She and House had never discussed the issue, actually, Cameron hadn't allowed herself to think of the possibility of having kids at all. So she was stunned when House casually replied with no hesitation.

"Well, that depends. If you keep nagging us, we'll probably leave it for five or so years."

Felicity snorted. "Right, we drop the subject and the next time we ask, you'll have a brand new excuse all ready to go."

"That's the plan!" House replied cheerfully, and Blythe tactfully changed the subject.

It was dark before the couple found themselves in their room preparing for bed, Blythe and John closing up the house and the excess family relatives gone to their hotel.

"Your family's a lot more fun," House told her tiredly as they climbed into bed and Cameron giggled.

"I know. I love the girls though, they're great."

House snorted. "They're insane. Thank god they're my second cousins... I can pretty much ignore them whenever I want to. Of course, that was before you made friends with them all. Now I'll never get rid of them. They'll be expecting Christmas presents now!" he told her indigently.

Cameron laughed. "Oh, please. When was the last time you bought a gift for anyone?"

"You, the first year you worked for me," House replied automatically, not even needing to think about it.

Cameron was touched. "I was the last?"

"Yeah... you must have liked it. I've seen the same type of perfume in your bedroom."

She smiled softly. "It's... it's not the same type. It's the same bottle," she admitted. "I've hardly used it."

House raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"No. I could probably tell you every occasion I've worn it since you gave it to me."

House looked at her expectantly. "Ok, go for it."

Cameron rolled her eyes but sighed and began to tick off on her hands. "Well, there was... our date, the poker benefit, my birthday, and the night of the benefit you came back. Oh, and our first official date after that."

House was surprised. "That's it?"

She shrugged. "I save it for special occasions. You seem surprised."

"I am, a little," he admitted. Then he kissed her softly. "I love you."

"I love you," she replied and curled up against him to go to sleep. House began tracing circles on her back, lulling her to sleep.

"Hey, Greg?" she murmured sleepily.

"Yeah?" he returned, his eyes closed.

"What you said earlier... about the kids. Did you mean it?"

There was a pause so long Cameron thought he'd fallen asleep. She sighed and moved closer to him, so that she almost missed it when he replied softly,

"Yeah."


	8. The Holidays

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good.**

**This was meant to be just a short filler chapter before the drama starts again, but ended up being a bit longer than I'd planned.**

**Chapter 8: The Holidays**

"Ooh, yum! Snickers!"

Cameron reclaimed the packet of snickers out of her boyfriend's grasp and stowed it safely in the pantry before returning to her task of unpacking her groceries. House pouted, and gazed longingly at the pantry.

"Why can't I have the candy?" he demanded.

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Honestly... they're for the trick-or-treaters, Greg. You want to dress up in a costume and go doorknocking for candy, then you can have a snickers."

House grabbed a can of soda from her fridge and drank half its contents in one swallow before replying.

"First of all, I can make various comments here about my costume ideas, but I won't. Secondly, Halloween isn't for another week. Why are you buying candy now when you should know after five months that I'm probably going to eat it between now and then anyway?"

Cameron smiled. "I'm trusting you to stay away from the candy if you know what's good for you. By the way, my dad called today."

"Yeah, so?" House asked.

She scowled at him. "So, Thanksgiving is at his and Kym's house this year, and he wants us to come... and your parents."

House moaned. "No! Why?"

She laughed. "Because I'm dating you and they would like to meet your family. Come on, Greg! It won't be that bad."

"Doubtful. Who else will be there?" House asked unenthusiastically.

"Dad and Kym, Bryan, Erin and Ben, Mom and Marcus, Jake and Dan and Hayley, Tyson and the kids. You said yourself, my family is fun. And if we don't go there, our alternatives are to spend it with your family, or to work and eat with Chase and Foreman... and probably Wilson" she smiled smugly at him.

House grimaced. "Damn you, Allison Elizabeth Cameron-Mackenzie... Ow!" he yelped and rubbed the spot where she pinched him.

"You've got to stop doing that," he said to her and she glared at him.

"You've got to stop using my full name. Then I won't have any reason to pinch you."

"I'm sure you'd find one," House muttered as he left the kitchen to watch television.

On Halloween, House and Cameron rented some movies (his pick, _Die another Day_, hers _P.S. I love you_, much to House's dismay) and ordered in Chinese food. They decided to watch _Die another Day _first, although Cameron didn't see much of it as she was constantly handing out candy to the Trick-or-Treaters.

"Do I have to watch your soppy chick flick with you?" House moaned to her as the credits of the James Bond movie rolled.

Cameron smiled smugly. "No, actually it's probably better if you don't. You might get jealous of Gerald Butler."

House's eyes narrowed. "Why should I be jealous of Gerald Butler?"

She shrugged innocently. "No reason. I've always loved the Irish accent."

"Gerald Butler is Irish?" House tried to follow.

She grinned nodding. "Oh yeah. He's really, really cute too."

House squirmed and she had to stop herself from laughing. She knew he hated it when she admired... well, 'crushed on' as Erin called it...any male actors, although he denied it. Cameron had to admit it though, she loved it when he got jealous.

"Put the damn movie in," he ordered brusquely and she knew he'd be watching it with her. Cameron loved this movie, although she wasn't a huge fan of Hilary Swank, it always hit home with her and made her all the more grateful for her time with Alex. House knew this, and couldn't help but question her on it when the movie had finished.

"I'm guessing you can relate to Holly."

She smiled up at him, wiping her eyes. "A little. I feel sorry for her most of the time."

House raised an eyebrow at her in confusion and she tried to explain. "With Alex... I knew from the beginning that we only had so much time, so we never took anything for granted. Holly and Gerry... it came out of nowhere. So much time gets wasted if you don't realise how quickly you can lose it all."

House listened to her speech, and suddenly realised she was right. When he had suffered the infarction, for a time he had thought... hoped.... that he was dying, to end all the pain. In those final days before Stacy had intervened and changed his life forever, he had suddenly mentally listed all his regrets. Even five months ago, at the benefit, hadn't he said the same thing to Cameron? "If there was even a chance of a life with you, I'd take it. Even if the idea scares me to death. I don't want to have any more regrets. And I already have enough about you."

Cameron was watching him carefully, puzzled by the strange expression on his face. "Uh, Greg?"

"Move in with me," he said abruptly and she was shocked.

"What?" she gasped.

"Move in with me," he repeated, and turned to face her, taking both her hands in his.

"Is this a trick? Because I did save you some candy-" she began nervously, but he leaned forward and kissed her.

"What did I say to you five months ago?"

Cameron sighed, rolling her eyes. "Greg, you said a lot that night. You have to be more specific."

"I said if there was any chance with you, I'd take it. Because-"

"Because you didn't want to have any regrets," she finished softly.

He nodded. "Yeah. So, move in with me. Or I'll move in here, whatever. What do you say?"

Cameron was still deciding if he was serious, but decided to take the chance while it was available. "Ok," she said breathlessly and House grinned.

"Really?"

"Yeah," she replied, smiling broadly and he kissed her again.

"So... where did you say my candy was?" he asked her and she rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Two weeks later, House made the move into Cameron's apartment. Although she had been quite happy to move into his townhouse, House reasoned they spent most nights at her place anyway, so it was logical to make the move completely.

Wilson, Chase and Foreman had been recruited to assist with the move and had been stunned by the news, but adjusted quickly to the news. Cameron had informed her family, and made House call his parents to tell them about the move and also to invite them to Thanksgiving, and all parties involved were thrilled with the news. Since meeting them, Cameron had stayed in touch with Taylor, Riley and Charlie and they had become firm friends.

Three days before Thanksgiving, Cameron and House flew out to Chicago, where Marcus met them, Jake and Dan at the airport.

"Thanksgiving always makes me glad you're our only kid, Allie," he chuckled as they drove away.

Cameron laughed. "Dad and Kym's a bit noisy?"

"With their three and then Hayley's lot? Definitely," he replied.

"That's why we stay with you," she smiled.

"Us too," Jake added, grinning.

They arrived at the Hunter's suburban home, where Amanda met them warmly before Cameron led House to her childhood bedroom. House's gaze was captivated when he entered the room. Three walls were painted in a pale mint green, and the fourth was a dazzling mural of a city at night.

"That's incredible!" he said in awe of the mural. "Who did that?"

"Me," Cameron admitted sheepishly. "I copied it from a poster of London at night when I was seventeen."

"Damn!" House tore his gaze away to stare at his girlfriend.

"You never mentioned you're an artist."

"I _was _an artist," she corrected. "I don't have time anymore to do anything but sketch on scrap paper."

"You're good, you should keep it up," House admonished her. "What else have you done?"

She shrugged, blushing slightly from his praise. "Not much. Erin has a mural of a catwalk I did for her when she turned thirteen... so that was almost four years ago now. Ben wants me to do one for his room. I said I might do it while we're here if I have time."

"We'll make time," House said firmly.

Cameron smiled and led him out of the room. The next day, the household went to spend the day at Chris and Kym's home, where Cameron and Jake were overwhelmed by Hayley's four children, all under ten who were thrilled to hang out with their aunts and uncles. In the afternoon, Jake, Dan and Tyson went with Ben and Bryan to take Hayley's youngest and only son, Max to the park to play football. Meanwhile, Cameron and Erin enlisted the girls, Hope, Jamie and Chelsea to help them make chocolate chip cookies. House watched slightly in awe as he observed how natural and relaxed Cameron was as she helped her nieces and sister with the cooking and at the same time, had a long conversation with Erin about school and her senior year.

As everyone enjoyed the cookies the girls had made, Cameron and Ben began to discuss the mural he wanted for his room. House already knew that Kym had been very sick after his birth, so Cameron had stepped in to raise her half-siblings at seventeen for a few months and was very close to them as a result.

"What was I supposed to do?" she had shrugged casually when House had been surprised at her revelation. "Jake and Hayley were twenty-five! Hayley was married, Jake was in California for work... my mom and Marcus helped out, but my Dad was taking care of Kym. I didn't mind, they're my siblings. We just have different mothers. Dad and Kym have always lived a block away, so it wasn't exactly a stretch to move in for a few months."

Eventually, Ben decided on a space mural and Chris and Marcus offered to go get the necessary materials the next morning. Cameron was reluctant to get to work, as Blythe and John were arriving the next day, but House insisted until she gave in. It was the day before Thanksgiving, and House borrowed Amanda's car to go to the airport and pick up his parents.

"Where's Allison?" Blythe asked as he drove back.

"She's at her dad's place. She's painting a mural in her brother's bedroom," House explained.

He let them settle into the final spare room at the Hunter's, before he and Amanda escorted them over to the Cameron's residence where he introduced them to Chris, Kym and their children. It wasn't long before Cameron became aware of new voices downstairs and left her work to come down for a coffee break, her sweats already paint-splattered. House and Blythe were keen to stick around to see the finished product, but Cameron insisted it wouldn't be ready until the next day.

"I'll finish it while dinner's cooked, and you can see after," she promised when House complained.

Chris couldn't help nudging his youngest son. "Ben, I hoped you thanked your sister."

Ben looked insulted. "Of course I did!" He grinned. "I snuck a peek too. It looks awesome, Allie. Totally real!"

Cameron laughed. "Thanks, Ben. Glad to know when I say 'no looking until it's finished' that you listen to me."

True to her word, Cameron spent Thanksgiving morning putting the finishing touches on the mural before changing into clothes that weren't covered in paint for lunch that Blythe, Kym and Amanda had prepared.

"Ok, let's see the painting!" House announced impatiently when the last empty dessert dishes were cleared from the table two hours later.

Cameron rolled her eyes, but House, Ben and Jake had already left the table and were heading upstairs. The others hastened after them, and Cameron took a deep breath before opening the door to Ben's bedroom, and letting everyone else in.

"Whoa!" Ben exclaimed in delight, his eyes wide as he took it in.

House was speechless. The wall was painted a deep blue, almost black with miniscule white stars covering most of the space. There was a bright orange-colored planet in the centre of the wall, with swirls of light and even a rocket in the corner, with a small planet Earth visible in the distance.

"This is great, sweetie!" Amanda told her daughter, and the others added their praise.

"Thanks. You like it, Ben?" she asked her brother.

He nodded, beaming. "It's wicked cool, Al. Thanks, heaps."

Cameron exchanged a grin with Dan. "There you go. It's 'wicked cool', apparently."

House raved about the mural for days, and didn't stop when they returned to Princeton. He even asked Cuddy to get her to paint a mural for the children's ward, which after much convincing she agreed to, and painted a magical fairyland that had the whole staff talking. The whole incident had given House the perfect gift for Christmas for Cameron and he enlisted Wilson's help to pull it off in the weeks before Christmas.

The couple had plans to go to North Carolina for the holiday to spend it with Blythe and John, but unfortunately, the day before Christmas Eve, they were handed a new patient and the team promptly put their holidays on hold.

"Doesn't it seem this happens every year?" Chase sighed to Cameron as they were conducting tests in the lab on Christmas Eve.

"Yeah..." Cameron agreed grimly. It was the first Christmas for her and House as a couple, and here they were working, as usual.

"Too bad we can't still have Christmas," Chase was saying and Cameron was suddenly struck with an idea.

"Maybe we can."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "I mean, I could cook, bring in my small Christmas tree... we can have Christmas here! I mean, I've got your gifts at home, but it won't be hard to move them."

Chase seemed to be getting into the idea now. "Yeah, well I know Foreman and I all have gifts for everyone. Why not?"

Cameron was excited now. "Can you finish the tests while I convince House?"

"Sure, go for it," he nodded and she dashed out of the office.

When she suggested it to him, House looked at her as though she was crazy. "Why?"

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, Greg. We all had plans, and now we're stuck working... again. Christmas is all about being together, and I really want to make the holiday fun for everyone."

"With Chase and Foreman?" he asked sceptically.

"You can invite Wilson, it's not like he's going anywhere," she wheedled him. "Please, Greg? It's our first Christmas together..."

She turned her gaze to him pleadingly and House sighed heavily. "Fine. Whatever."

Cameron beamed and kissed him lightly before skipping happily out of the office. Throughout the night, the team made separate trips out to bring their gifts back to the office to the small tree Cameron had brought from her apartment. Even Wilson and Cuddy, whom Cameron had invited, joined in the act and filled in for Cameron on Christmas morning, so she could go home and cook lunch.

Just before one, Cameron called and asked House to help her bring the food up, who instantaneously sent Chase down instead. They ate a cheery lunch, enjoying each other's company as they took a reprieve from diagnosing their patient and then Foreman proposed they exchange gifts. House, for one, was enthusiastic about that idea, especially since Cameron had added his name to the gifts she bought, so House hadn't had to do anything.

Cameron examined the gift House had just handed her curiously. She had given him a rare first edition of _Great Expectations, _which she knew he loved, but didn't really expect anything in return. So she was both touched and stunned when she opened the box to reveal a large sketch pad and an expensive set of paints and pencils.

"I told you, you should start painting again," he shrugged simply and Cameron smiled softly at him.

Afterwards, Chase and Foreman disappeared to do more tests, and Wilson and Cuddy left the office, leaving Cameron and House alone. Cameron stepped up to House and kissed him lovingly, smiling up at him.

"Thank you," she said to him softly and he smiled slightly.

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," she replied and sighed contentedly.

A week later, Taylor and Pete came down from Virginia after leaving their two kids with her parents and joined House and Cameron on New Year's Eve at _La Vie Boheme_. The club was packed, and the four joined by Jake and Dan, had a night filled with dancing, karaoke, drinking and laughter to ring in 2009 together. House only danced one dance the entire night, when he wrapped Cameron in his arms for Aerosmith's _I don't want to miss a thing_.

"Kind of ironic," he murmured.

"What is?" she asked in confusion.

"They play the song from _Armageddon _on New Year's Eve, which is a movie about the apocalypse. It's ironic, isn't it?"

Cameron rolled her eyes. "I doubt that's why it made Jake's playlist."

As the crowd counted down the seconds to the New Year, House wrapped his arms around Cameron and kissed her just before midnight.

"Happy New Year," she whispered to him as the partygoers cheered.

House smiled down at her, holding her close. "I love you."

"I love you too." Then she sighed. "Are we done with the holidays for now?"

House laughed. "Almost. You're forgetting one."

She frowned. "Am I? What?"

"Valentine's Day," he answered simply and she laughed.  
"You don't do Valentine's Day!" she reminded him.

"Well, I never used to. But it's also your birthday, so I figure I'll have to do something."

She shook her head. "Just spend it with me. That's all."

House went one step further though, and on Valentine's morning, surprised her with a dozen red roses and a simple silver music box, which she loved. Then he, Chase, Foreman, Wilson and Cuddy took her out for lunch with Jake and Dan, before the couple spent a quiet night at home.

"Have a good birthday?" he asked her as they were falling asleep.

Cameron smiled softly. "Perfect. Everything is perfect."

House entwined his fingers in hers and pulled her closer as sleep claimed them.


	9. Right Kind of Wrong

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good.**

** I don't normally do this, but i just wanted to clear up a few things. Thanks for all your fantastic reviews, they make me happy. Especially to VisualIdentificationZeta, who's reviews are practical, ego-boosting yet right. I just want to make clear... i don't do breakups. (does it count as a breakup if they get back together?) anyway, my specialty is fights and near fatal accidents. Also, Cameron's husband may have been the love of her life, until she got with House. Just coz you have feelings for someone, you don't always realise how great those feelings are, until you're in a relationship. And sex on the first night together may be a little rished, but don't forget they've been having 'moments' for all this time. Lastly, i didn't realise so many people wrote Cameorn as having a gay brother. I think i've only read 1 or 2. I just remembered in Paternity when Hoouse asked if she was an only child, she hesitated and said "i'm not an only child" which seemed weird to me, because if someone asked me that, i say "no, i've got two sisters and a brother".**

**Enjoy! Let the Drama begin!**

**Chapter 9: Right Kind of Wrong**

Chase and Foreman knew instantly something was amiss when they arrived in the office before Cameron. Although she and House were living together, that didn't stop her from arriving as always at seven-thirty. Sometimes House would be there too, usually sleeping in his office; but there were still many mornings when he would wander in around nine. So when Chase stopped abruptly in the doorway, and the two men realised the coffee pot was silent, the blinds were drawn and the computer off, it didn't take them long to realise this would not be a usual day.

"What's wrong with this picture?" Chase asked Foreman as they hung up their coats.

Foreman checked his watch, puzzled. "Cameron is late, isn't she? We haven't just shown up insanely early?"

Chase shook his head and moved to open the blinds and turn on the computer. "No... Do you think she's sick?"

Foreman sighed. "We're being stupid. She's allowed to sleep through an alarm or have bad traffic once in a while. I guess we're just used to her being here."

It was only perhaps ten minutes later that Cameron entered the office, headed straight for her desk and sat down to answer the pile of mail she obviously had collected just prior. She threw her empty starbucks container into the trash and began to type replies furiously, her mouth pressed in a tight line. House entered the conference room only moments behind her, hurled his backpack into his office and blasted his iPod, pointedly ignoring all three of his fellows.

Chase and Foreman exchanged worried looks over their newspapers, but neither was game enough to question the couple over their odd behaviour. An awkward tension filled the office, which was thankfully broken by the arrival of Cuddy, who pulled House's earphone out of one ear and dumped a file in his lap.

"House, case."

House sighed. "Not interested."

Cuddy raised an eyebrow at her diagnostician. "Not interested? Well, get interested. Twenty-two year old female presented to the clinic this morning. Complaining of nausea, abdomen pain and migraines."

House rolled his eyes. "She's pregnant. You're welcome."

Cuddy wasn't deterred. "No pregnancy. She's a junior partner in a law firm in Trenton, the migraines started after the building was fumigated last month, but she wasn't exposed."

"She's a young woman in a high pressure job. Stomach ulcer caused by stress," House replied and Cuddy shook her head.

"No ulcer. She also has severe rib pain, to the point she can barely move. Her GP asked her if she was on drugs, which she's not."

House sighed and turned off his iPod, and opened the file. "Fine, whatever. Goodbye."

Cuddy regarded him for a moment, before nodding and leaving the office and House went to the whiteboard, leaving Chase and Foreman to look at the file.

"Dr. Cameron, are you planning on playing doctor or secretary today?" he demanded of Cameron, and Chase and Foreman were shocked by his harsh tone.

Cameron simply glared at him coolly and took her seat at the conference table, taking the file off Chase. House scribbled the symptoms on the board and they had hardly begun to discuss possibilities when he capped the marker.

"Take a history. Run blood cultures, and x-ray her chest, CT her stomach. Go!"

Cameron immediately got up and went to do so, without even looking at House and Chase and Foreman immediately followed, not daring to argue.

Cameron was already at the nurses' station, using the phone to book the CT scan.

"What?" she asked as she noticed them staring at her in concern, after she'd hung up.

Foreman gestured towards the office. "Do you mind explaining what that was about?"

"What what was about?" she frowned and Chase snorted.

"You're kidding, right? For March, it felt like a blizzard in there!"

Cameron paused. "I felt fine. Maybe the heating's a little off. Just call maintenance."

Foreman sighed, shook his head. "Not the room temperature. You and House. What's going on?"

Cameron faltered. "What? Nothing."

Neither Chase nor Foreman were buying it. "Right. Cameron, what's happened?" Foreman asked gently and Cameron caught herself suddenly with tears in her eyes.

"No," she shook her head avoiding eye contact. "We have to do the tests on Sonya."

Chase met Foreman's gaze and sighed. "Alright. I'll get the history and blood cultures, you and Foreman get the CT and I'll meet you in radiology for the x-rays."

Cameron nodded and took off. Chase and Foreman exchanged a worried glance before separating. Cameron lasted until the three were taking a short coffee break in the cafeteria as they waited for the results of all their tests to come back; then she couldn't help herself from bursting.

"He read my emails," she exclaimed suddenly.

Foreman frowned. "He read your emails? Why would he do that?"

"I don't know!" Cameron replied wearily. "But when I asked him about it, he denied it. Completely... he looked me in the eyes and lied. I-I just can't believe he did it! It's a complete violation of my trust! I don't go around snooping through his computer... and even if I did, I certainly wouldn't lie about it!"

Chase was horrified. "It doesn't make any sense. I mean, we all know House likes knowing everything... but, you don't read each other's emails if you're in a relationship! It's like, the ultimate rule... along with don't sleep with their best friend."

Cameron gave a slight smile. "I'm covered there. My best friend's a male, remember?"

Foreman squeezed her hand comfortingly. "Don't worry. Just give him the cold shoulder for a few days, and he'll never do it again."

She smiled. "It's not that I'm worried he'll do it again. It's that he did it, and lied about it. Does he really not trust me so he has to read my emails?"

Chase hesitated. "I just have one question... if he read _your_ emails... then why is _he_ mad?"

"Right Kind of Wrong!" House announced, striding into Wilson's office, startling him.

Wilson stared up at him friend in utter confusion. "What?"

"Right Kind of wrong," House repeated as he sat down. "It's a song, Jimmy," he clarified, rolling his eyes.

Wilson shook his head. "I don't know it."

"Good lord, Wilson! Didn't you ever watch _Coyote Ugly?_" House demanded.

"No, was I supposed to?"

House sighed. "Forget it. You can't understand unless you have a clue of pop culture."

Wilson stared after House as he left as quickly as he'd arrived. He tried to return to his work, but found his friend's behaviour seriously worrying him, the last time he could remember House acting so strange... had been before he was with Cameron. Horror-struck, Wilson immediately turned onto Google, and typed in _Right Kind of Wrong_.

He read the first result listed. "Right Kind of Wrong... Leann Rimes... used in _Coyote Ugly_, starring Piper Perabo... lyrics..."

He hastily followed the link and read the lyrics, before leaving his office and heading next door. "OK, Right Kind of Wrong. What about it?"

House looked up at him, sighed and tossed his oversized tennis ball into the air. "Allison got this questionnaire from Jason... and she filled it in."

"Ok," Wilson said, trying to follow.

"Question nine; which song best defines your relationship with your partner? She answered, 'Leann Rimes, _Right Kind of Wrong_.'"

Wilson, having just read the lyrics suddenly came to a realisation, although not the one House had hoped. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Well, that makes sense."

House startled. "What? How does that make sense?"

"Well, you are her older, formerly crippled ass of a boss. I'd be surprised if people didn't try and talk her out of being with you at first."

House glared at Wilson. "Not helping!"

"So, why does it upset you?" Wilson asked.

"Because... that's the best song that defines our relationship? A song that says, people say you're bad for me but the sex is good, so I'll stick around?"

Wilson gaped. "It doesn't actually say that?"

"It's implied!" House snarled.

Wilson went to make a comforting comment when something occurred to him. "Wait... how did you know what song she picked?"

House hesitated. "Well, she was on her laptop... and she went to the bathroom and it was open..."

"You read her emails!" Wilson exclaimed in fury, realising where he was going.

"I just happened to see... I didn't hack into her account or whatever," House said dismissively, but Wilson merely glared at him.

"And then what happened?"  
"Well, she came back from the bathroom, and... Asked me what I was doing."

"And you said?"

"Nothing."

Wilson closed his eyes in shock. "You said nothing?"

"No, I said 'nothing'. As in, 'I'm doing nothing.'"

"So, you invaded her privacy, and then lied to her about it?"

"What was I supposed to say?" House demanded.

"How about... 'I was just seeing what you were doing?"

"Yeah, because that wouldn't piss her off," House replied sarcastically.

"It's better than lying!"

"I forget, is lying better or worse than cheating?" House asked innocently and Wilson glared at him, then stormed out.

He hadn't been gone long when Cameron, Chase and Foreman returned with the results. "Her tox screen showed high levels of oestrogen," Cameron said emotionlessly.

House sighed. "Gee... what would cause high oestrogen in a woman?" he asked sarcastically.

"She's not pregnant," Chase interrupted.

House sighed. "Foreman, check the home. Cameron and Chase... do an MRI and a LP, just to rule out infection."

They left obediently and Foreman glanced at Cameron in sympathy. "You want to go do the home? Get some air, some space?"

Cameron smiled gratefully. "Yeah, ok. Thanks."

She pulled off her lab coat and collected her bag and coat. As she was heading towards the elevators, House appeared in the hallway.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

"Check the home," she replied, turning.

"No, I told Foreman to check the home," House replied slowly.

"Yeah, well I'm going instead."

"Why don't you do what I told you to do, and Foreman can do what I told him to do?" House called angrily as the elevator came. "Or does that fit in with your whole 'I don't care what other people think, I'll do what benefits me' attitude you apply to everything else?"

It was a low blow, and Cameron stared at him icily. "Because I need time to think," she answered and the doors closed behind her.


	10. Time to Think

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good.**

**Also, there is no Hamilton intersection in New Jersey- that I know of, because I live in Australia, so I made one up.**

**Chapter 10: Time to think**

Cameron stepped out onto the patient's front porch and inhaled a lungful of the crisp spring air. The home hadn't revealed much, but she had reported a few findings back to Foreman and Chase and now headed back to her car.

She sat heavily in the driver's seat, and sighed her head resting on the headrest. This was the first major fight between her and House, and she was actually surprised it hadn't happened sooner. It actually hurt her, she admitted to herself. It hurt that he felt he had to read her emails, and then had lied blatantly about it to her face. And that comment he'd made just before she'd left, clearly throwing it in her face!

And it was alright for him to be upset over her answers to the questionnaire, _he _wasn't the one that had had to deal with being 'advised' by friends and family about the sincerity of her feelings for him. Of course, this had only been before they'd actually gotten together, when she'd realised she'd fallen for her older, crippled, miserable boss but it still happened. Two days before, she and House had run into an old friend of her's from med school. When Cameron had introduced House as her boyfriend, the woman's eyes had widened in surprise for a moment.

Cameron knew that look of course. It was the 'why-him?' look, and she was sick to death of it. She started the engine and began the drive back to the hospital.

"Stupid cow," she muttered to herself, thinking of the woman she'd met. "What does she know about my relationship with Greg?"

She fell into her habit of comparing what people saw when they spotted her and House together, and what the reality was. Cameron was so lost in her thoughts, she didn't see the speeding car attempting to cross the intersection before the light turned red. She didn't hear the semi-trailer slam the brakes to swerve around the car, or the tyres lose grip on the still icy roads. Cameron turned her head just in time for her brain to process the semi-trailer smashing into the side of her car; and then all was lost.

*

Wilson had just finished his lunch when his pager sounded, AIMEE MCGREGOR IN ER. COME ASAP he read.

"Damn!" he swore, jumping up from his seat. He didn't even take time to throw his rubbish into the garbage before sprinting out of the cafeteria and hurrying towards the ER. He burst into the ER and headed towards Dr. Schafer.

"Hey, I got a page?" he asked.

Dr. Schafer nodded and grabbed a file off the desk and handing it to him. "Yeah, Aimee McGregor was brought in by paramedics about ten minutes ago. She was found by her neighbour in the bath with her wrists slit. One of the nurses that help out in oncology recognised her as your patient."

Wilson nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

Wilson sighed as he headed towards Aimee. Aimee McGregor was one of his most tragic cases. At only nineteen, she was estranged from her parents and had no other family. She had severed all contact with her family when they disapproved of her boyfriend, who had then gotten her pregnant. Throughout the pregnancy, she had suffered hip pain and severe symptoms. Tests after the birth of her daughter, revealed terminal leukaemia and Aimee was not coping with her diagnosis.

Now, Aimee was lying in bed, both wrists bandaged and a dead look in her eyes, that always chilled Wilson to the core, no matter how many times he saw it.

"Aimee?"

She glanced up at him, and it was a moment before she registered him. "Dr. Wilson."

"Yeah. Aimee, where are Paul and Sophie?" he asked gently.

"Paul took her to his mother's for the day," she replied quietly.

Wilson sighed and took her hand gently in his. "Why did you do it, Aimee?"

There were tears in her eyes as she answered. "I just wanted it to stop. I can't take it anymore, watching the baby... and Paul... knowing I have to leave and I'll never get to see my daughter grow up!"

Wilson nodded slightly. "I understand, Aimee. But Paul and Sophie don't deserve that. They deserve to say goodbye. They deserve you to fight for as long as you can..."

He was interrupted when Dr. Schafer approached him. "Wilson, we're going to transfer her to psych for 72 hours observation."

Wilson was startled. "Now? Can't you wait till her boyfriend gets here?"

Schafer shook her head. "There was a nasty accident on the Hamilton intersection. Casualties are on their way here, and we need the bed space."

Wilson nodded, and returned to Aimee. "Aimee, they're going to move you now. I'll come see you later ok? Paul and Sophie will be here soon, I promise."

Aimee nodded as two nurses helped her into the wheelchair, flashing Wilson a tiny smile, giving Wilson hope all was not lost yet. He was feeling immensely satisfied and about to return to his office when paramedics dashed into the room with a woman on a gurney.

"Wilson!"

Dr. Schafer's horror-stricken cry made Wilson turn, his heart in his throat. He headed towards her, but froze when he saw what had made her so shocked.

"Cameron!" he gasped, hurrying to get a closer look.

"What happened?" he demanded of the paramedics, who had handed a motionless Cameron into the care of Dr. Schafer and nurses by now.

"Semi-trailer crushed her and her car," the first replied. "Took us an hour to get her out of the car... not that there's much left of it."

"Was she conscious?"

"No, her pulse was barely there when we found her. She's lost a hell of a lot of blood... we didn't think she'd make it."

Wilson paled, and immediately turned and hastened towards the elevator. He dashed right past Cuddy without even acknowledging her, and burst into the Diagnostic's office panting.

House stared at him in bewilderment. "Ok, when did Wilson become a dog?" he asked Chase and Foreman.

Wilson regained some of his breath and ignored his friend's comment. "House, you've got to get down to the ER!"

"Why? Another patient? Haven't even officially finished this one yet," House replied.

He shook his head. "Not a patient, House. It's Cameron."

House froze and Chase and Foreman's jaws dropped. "What about Cameron?" House asked sharply. He hadn't even noticed until Chase pointed it out that she'd been gone for nearly two hours, but had decided she was somewhere cooling off.

Wilson didn't even know where to begin. "There was an accident-"

That was all he got out before all three men dashed out of the office, and didn't even wait for the elevator, storming the stairwell in their haste to get downstairs. House was the first to reach the ER, and the first sight that greeted him was the crowd of people around a bed closest to the door. He moved to the right and caught a glimpse of glossy, dark brown hair matted with a dark substance that was undeniably blood. House froze and stood rooted to the spot as Chase and Foreman recognised their colleague and friend.

"Oh, god!" Foreman whispered, staring at the crowd fighting to stabilise her and prepare her for emergency surgery.

Chase was ashen, but collected himself quickly. "I'll go scrub in and assist with her surgery."

"I'll call her family," Foreman added and they both hurried off again.

In a daze, House stared at the wall opposite as Cameron was wheeled past him on her way to surgery and found himself walking in a ghost-like state back towards his office. He hadn't been there long when a sober-faced Cuddy and Wilson appeared in the doorway, their faces grim.

"What's the prognosis?" House asked them dully.

Cuddy glanced at Wilson before answering. "A semi-trailer swerved to avoid another car. It skidded and crashed into Cam- Allison's car, crushing it."

House didn't appear to have any reaction so she continued. "She has a moderate head wound but the swelling should subside without surgery."

"So what does require surgery?" House asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

Cuddy's voice wavered as she replied, "She severed an artery in her left arm, but Dr. Sanders thinks they can save the arm. House, her heart, lungs and liver were severely crushed. There's a lot of damage... she may not survive."

House was perfectly silent and still, and after a moment Cuddy left, glancing at Wilson helplessly.

"What do we do?" she asked Wilson when they were out in the hall.

"We wait," he replied sadly.

"Not about Cameron. I'm worried about House, he... he's not even reacting!"

Wilson hesitated. "He didn't expect this. He and Allison have been fighting, and now she's fighting for her life."

Cuddy sighed heavily. "This is just awful... if she dies,"

"We can't think like that," Wilson cut her off. "Come on, we'll get some coffee and wait. Chase will know more when he comes out."

Chase left the operating theatre and let out a soft moan, burying his face in his hands. The surgery had endured for four hours, and they had nearly lost her five times and given her countless transfusions. They had managed to save the arm and repair her organs, but she would have a long recovery... 'If she recovers', Chase thought to himself. He had never seen so much damage in a patient before, and the fact it was Cameron made it that much worse.

He took a deep breath to steady himself and then entered the waiting room, to find himself facing a swarm of people. Cameron's entire family was there, save Hayley and her husband; Jason and his wife Jasmin, one of Cameron's closest friends; and of course, Foreman, Wilson and Cuddy, along with half a dozen nurses.

"How is she?" Amanda demanded, her voice hoarse from crying.

Chase sighed. "She's alive. That's the best news we have right now. We saved her arm and repaired her crushed organs... she lost a lot of blood. We just have to wait now."

Chris's face was pale as he processed the news. "Can we see her?"

He nodded. "Yeah, sure. Just so you're warned... she's on a lot of machines right now."

"But she's not as bad as she looks, right?" Jason asked, who seemed the most visibly shaken.

Chase grimaced. "I wish that was the case."

He took Amanda, Marcus, Chris and Kym into see her then, and Amanda looked as though she was going to faint at the sight of her daughter, but Marcus gripped her firmly. Cameron was deathly pale with a large bandage on her head. She was on a respirator and there were tubes attached to monitors from every part of her.

"Oh, my baby girl..." Chris whispered, stroking her hand tentatively.

Kym couldn't take her eyes off the surrounding machines and finally shook her head. "I can't... I'll wait outside."

"How does she look?" Jake asked his mother when she returned to the waiting room.

Kym sniffed. "She looks dead."

Dan's jaw dropped. "What? Kym, she can't-"

"She does. I can't even describe it... all I could think was if that was Jake or Hayley..." she began to cry and Jake embraced his mother.

"Allie's strong, Mom. She'll pull through."

"Can we see her?" Bryan asked, speaking for Erin, Ben and himself.

Kym shook her head. "I don't think so, sweetheart. Not yet."

"Mom!"

Kym turned from her protesting children to see Hayley and Tyson hurriedly approaching. "I'm so sorry we're late. We had to take the kids to Tyson's parents and traffic was awful. How's Allie?"

"You can see her yourself," Marcus answered for Kym as he, Amanda and Chris returned.

"Me too!" Jason said quickly.

He, Jasmin, Hayley, Jake and Dan made the trip down to the recovery room and all simultaneously froze at the sight of Cameron.

"Oh my god!" Jake finally got out and he cautiously approached the bed, eyeing his stepsister as though she was made of glass.

Hayley felt as though she couldn't decide whether to vomit or faint, and settled on crying as she viewed the machines giving her step-sister life.

"I just keep picturing her as that tiny little eight-year old girl we met. Remember, Jake?"

Jake smiled fondly. "She was so shy, and had, like, five books stuffed into her knapsack."

"She remembers everything she reads," Jasmin smiled at the memories, and Jason stifled a sob.

"You can cry, Jase. We don't judge," Dan told him.

Jason laughed dryly. "Allie does. I shed a few tears during one episode of _Buffy _and she never lets me forget it."

The five stayed there for another few minutes before leaving, and Foreman, Wilson and Cuddy made to replace them.

"Wait, where's House?" Hayley asked them, realising he wasn't there.

Foreman hesitated. "In his office, I think. He's been there since she came in."

Hayley's eyes narrowed in anger, and as Foreman headed in to see Cameron, she took off down the hall to confront House.


	11. The Song List

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good.**

**Chapter 11: The song list**

"What are you doing?"

House registered a voice breaking through his haze of thoughts, and glanced towards the door recognizing Hayley after a moment, pausing in his act of tossing his oversized tennis ball.

"How is she?"

"Alive." Hayley said angrily. "Of course, if you'd been in the waiting room like everyone else, you'd know this. So then, pray tell, is this a display of your feelings for my sister? That she's fighting for her life, and you're sitting in your office playing catch with a goddamn ball?"

House stiffened, his tension and anxiety over Cameron threatening to erupt into anger at Hayley. "You have no idea what I'm doing, or what my feelings towards your _step_-sister are."

He pointedly stressed the 'step' and Hayley's nostrils flared. "As far as both Jake and I are concerned, she's our sister- fully. In every way but DNA. And I know if it was you out there in Allie's place, she'd be camped out in that waiting room for any news and then she'd be glued to your side. I know because she did that for Alex, and she loves you just as much, if not more! So, I guess it's a question of how much you love her," she snapped.

Hayley's emotional, impulsive insinuation was the breaking point for House's raw emotion. "You think I don't love her enough?" he demanded, standing to face her. "Well, let me tell you that love isn't all Hollywood films and hallmark cards. Because, guess what? I love your sister. I love her, and I'm sorry if that means I can't sit in a waiting room with a crowd of emotional, pessimistic people who are all thinking the worst. I can think of plenty of worse outcomes to the woman I love being in a serious car crash just fine here alone!"

House angrily threw the ball he still held in his hand at the wall, and let out a sound that was almost a snarl before continuing, for the first time letting his emotions show since Wilson had told him the news.

"I do _not_ want to have to live the rest of my life without her, knowing my last words to her were anything but 'I love you'. And if I'm out there, and I see her... that's all I can do. If I stay away, I can imagine that she's going to wake up any minute and we can go home for dinner. So, deal with this your way, and let me deal in mine. But don't you _dare_ make the mistake again of doubting how much I love her!"

Hayley was stunned into silence, which was broken by the office door opening and Amanda entering.

"You here to accuse me of not loving your daughter enough to wait in the waiting room, too?" House asked her the second she met his gaze.

Amanda didn't even seem surprised, just subdued. "No, actually. I came to see how you were holding up. James said you and Allie were fighting... before."

House sighed and sat back down, closing his eyes. "I was such an ass. It was my fault."

Amanda smiled slightly. "I'm sure it wasn't all your fault. If Allison inherited anything from her father, it's his temper."

House snorted quietly, but shook his head. "This was my fault. I... I happened to see something on her computer last night, and I overreacted... she accused me of not trusting her, I said things... stupid things..."

"What did you see?" Amanda asked curiously.

House looked ashamed as he answered. "She got this... questionnaire from Jason. And one of the questions was... which song best defines your relationship. She answered, _Right Kind of Wrong_."

"Leann Rimes?" Hayley frowned.

"Yeah. I... I guess I got... offended. I thought it should have been something else."

"Like what?" Hayley asked.

House shrugged. "I don't know. Anything... a song with a better message than that... It made me feel like..."

"A second choice?" Hayley guessed as he searched for the words to explain.

House seemed surprised. "Yeah, I guess that was it. Like she picked me as an act of rebellion."

"So you wanted a song like, _I will always love you _or _Have a little faith in me, _something like that?"

House was silent. "I was hoping for something that sounds like something she would have written."

Amanda was smiling, to House's shock and confusion. "Greg, those questionnaires circulate at least half a dozen times a year. Especially in our family, we do them for fun. And every time, there is a question like that, and every one will have a different answer. And yeah, sometimes we pick songs that have different messages. I once described my relationship with Marcus with, George Michael's _Faith_. It doesn't mean anything."

She saw House's remorse and pain in his eyes deepen, and she said softly, "If you like, I could find a list of all the songs Allie has told me remind her of you from the day you met. Even before you were together."

Hayley too, now felt ashamed of her earlier outburst and tried to rectify herself. "Music is the soundtrack to our lives, Greg. But the songs don't last forever."

House rolled his eyes. "That's the cheesiest thing I've ever heard."

Hayley simply shrugged, and House hesitated. "I- I just can't see her. I can't face the possibility of losing her yet."

Amanda nodded. "I know. You need time. You also need to believe she can pull through."

"I know. But if I see her, I'll read her chart, and monitor her condition and read the machines... and I need to not be a doctor right now. That will only happen if I don't see her."

After a moment, the two women left and House was alone again. It was dusk when House finally left his office, and slowly headed towards the waiting room. It was far emptier than it had been earlier that day, with only Chase, Foreman, Wilson and Cuddy remaining.

"Where is everyone else?" House asked, startling the group.

"Hotels," Chase replied. "It's been a long day for everyone."

Cuddy turned to House, her tone gentle. "I transferred your patient to Diagnostics at Princeton General, so you don't have to worry about that."

House nodded and sat down next to Foreman, who was staring at the ground silently. "It should have been me," Foreman said suddenly, and the others all stared at him.

"What do you mean?" Cuddy asked him in confusion.

He looked up at House, who was surprised to see unshed tears in his eyes. "House, you asked me to go to the home. I offered to let... Allison... go instead. I'm sorry," he apologised sincerely and House didn't know what to say.

"She wouldn't have gone if we weren't fighting," he replied honestly. "You were being a good friend, giving her what she needed at the time. No apology needed for taking care of an upset friend."

He was aware how out of character this was for him, and he stood quickly. "You should all go home. Get some sleep."

"So should you," Cuddy replied gently.

House grimaced at the prospect of going back to their apartment, alone and shuddered. "No. I'm staying. Haven't slept in my office for awhile, I'm sure my chair's missed me."

They watched him walk away in the direction of his office in silence, before Wilson sighed. "Is everyone else staying?"

"Of course," Foreman and Chase replied immediately.

Cuddy shook her head. "There's no point. I need to distract myself, and it'll be easier at home than here. Goodnight, guys."

"Night, Cuddy" Wilson called after her softly.

He, Chase and Foreman sat in silence for a moment before rising as one and heading towards the vending machines.

Cameron's condition didn't change over the next few days, and family and friends were clinging to every hope they had. House still couldn't bring himself to actually visit Cameron, but he never left the hospital and spent most his time in the hall outside her room, trying to convince himself to enter. Chris and Kym had tried to convince their three children to return to Chicago so as to not miss too much school, but all three flatly refused although Erin would graduate in three months. Jason and Jasmin were staying with Jake and Dan; as was Hayley, although Tyson had returned to Connecticut for their kids.

As the days turned into weeks, everyone seemed to be giving up. Kym forced her children back to Chicago after a week and a half, Marcus and Jason and Jasmin returning with her. Amanda and Chris were staying in House and Cameron's empty apartment, Amanda in their spare room, Chris on the couch; and Hayley made weekend trips up from Connecticut. Cameron seemed to be hovering between life and death, and there were times everyone was sure death would win.

Four weeks after the accident, House was approaching the hallway where Cameron's room was, when he saw Cameron's doctor and the head of neurology, talking to Amanda and Chris. His stomach tightening, he hurried forward fearing the worst.

"What's happening?" he demanded.

Dr. Abbot, head of neurology turned to House sternly. "House, you know we can't discuss the patient with you."

House opened his mouth to protest, but Chris beat him to it. "Excuse me doctor Abbot, the patient is my daughter and this is her boyfriend. Amanda and I would like him included."

Dr. Abbot was clearly reluctant, so Dr. Evans took over, turning his attention to House. "House, we were just telling Amanda and Chris that Allison's latest tests show decreased brain activity."

House stilled, knowing where this was leading. "You're not thinking about-"

"Taking her off the life support, yes," Evans finished calmly.

House turned to Amanda and Chris half angrily, half stunned. "You can't!"

"Greg, it's been weeks and she hasn't improved," Chris said miserably, his throat constricted with tears.

"It's only been four weeks!" House argued. "She could still pull through!"

Abbot regarded him disbelievingly. "House, you know the chances after a month long coma..."

House grimaced. "So, you want to let her die?"

Amanda choked on a sob. "You think I want my baby girl, my only child to die? She's only thirty-one!"

She fought to gain control of herself as she continued. "For the last month of his life, Alex was just like Allie, living through machines. Allie told me, she would never want to live like that."

House was stopped from arguing with her as he realised a conversation he and Cameron had had once about this very subject, after a patient had come to the same decision. Cameron had been adamant that if there was no great chance for her survival, she would not want an 'mechanically extended lifespan'. As this realisation occurred to House, his heart sank and he knew he wouldn't be able to argue forever and the outcome would be the same.

"Greg?" Chris asked him as House stood motionlessly in the hall gazing at the wall separating him from his girlfriend.

"Ok," House said hoarsely, closing his eyes and hating himself even as he said it. "Ok."

Amanda's voice shook as she turned back to the doctors. "Can we wait awhile first? So... we can... say goodbye?"

The doctors assured them they could and excused themselves. "I'll start the calls," Chris swallowed hard and gripped Amanda's hand tightly before moving off.

House said nothing as Amanda hurried away, no longer able to hold back her tears.

**AN. I already know the answer, but I enjoy making you all wonder if I'm going to kill Cameron off. You'll have to review if you want to know!**


	12. Goodbye

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good. Gee... the title of this chapter almost seems like Cameron dies... **

**Chapter 12: Goodbye**

House entered his office to find Wilson in there with Chase and Foreman.

"House, are you okay?" Wilson asked, alarmed by the dead look on his friend's face. "Allison?"

House sat down at the conference table, still unable to believe what was happening. "They're going to turn off the life support."

As one, all three men's jaws dropped in shock. "Turn it off?" Chase repeated dimly.

"Oh god," Foreman gasped.

Wilson said nothing, but his face was drained of colour as he faced House. "When?"

House shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. They're going to let everyone... say goodbye first."

Cameron's closest family and friends returned to New Jersey the next day, all attempting to prepare themselves for the unthinkable. The hospital staff were all in mourning and the mood was sombre as the time approached.

House was cooped up alone in his office again, unable to even imagine saying goodbye. Also, he was furious about an incident that had occurred yesterday afternoon. News that they were turning off the machines had spread through the hospital quickly, and House had been walking to the cafeteria with Wilson when it happened. All day people had been stopping him to offer words of comfort to him, as though she were already dead, even people Cameron didn't know were offering condolences.

A young doctor stopped him just inside the cafeteria, his expression nervous. "Uh, Dr. House? My names Tom Brewster, I'm in radiology. I was just wondering if I could leave this with you?"

He held out a sheaf of papers to House, who stared at it then the doctor blankly. "What is it?"

"My CV," Brewster said eagerly and House shrugged.

"Why do I want it?"

"Well, I just figured you'd have an opening for a fellowship now. With Dr. Cameron dead and all..." Brewster answered tactlessly and House glared at him, his hand clenching into a fist.

"You son of a-"

"House!" Wilson said warningly, stepping in between them before House hit him. "Go sit. Go!"

House reluctantly moved away into the silent cafeteria, avoiding the eyes of shocked staff members who had heard the incident and were horrified; as Wilson stepped towards Brewster, shoving his CV into his grasp.

"Take this back, and get lost. I don't know what the hell you were thinking, but it was the stupidest thing you could have done," Wilson told him coldly and followed his friend to the table.

In the waiting room, everyone save House gathered together, awaiting their turn to say goodbye.

"He's not coming?" Amanda asked Wilson as he joined them.

Wilson shook his head heavily. "I tried, he won't listen."

"He'll regret it if he doesn't," she murmured and Hayley grasped her hand comfortingly.

"He'll show Amanda. He has to."

Dr. Evans emerged from Cameron's room and studied the assembled group sombrely. "You can go in now," he told them. "Just let me know when you're ready."

Chris nodded shortly, and he, Amanda, Marcus and Kym headed inside. Jake, Hayley, Bryan, Erin and Ben followed their parents; and Dan, Jason, Jasmin and Tyson followed them. Hayley was not allowing her children to see their aunt and Tyson agreed. Chase, Foreman, Wilson and Cuddy were next to say goodbye, and all emerged with tears in their eyes. No-one spoke after they returned to the waiting room, and Chris hesitated, exchanging a glance with Amanda before going to find Dr. Evans. Amanda, Chris, Marcus and Kym were by Cameron's side as Dr. Evans sighed sadly and began to turn off the machines. The room came to a still, as all eyes were fixed on Cameron's face who seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

"Is that it? She's gone, just like that?" Amanda choked out from Marcus's embrace.

Dr. Evans shook his head. "Her heart is still beating, but that will stop soon without machines keeping it beating. We just have to wait."

He paused, and then left the room, leaving them to wait for the end.

*

House felt a chill in his gut, and instinctively knew the machines had been stopped. He couldn't tell how he knew, he just did. So, an hour later when Cuddy entered his office where he was sitting on his chair, he wasn't surprised.

"She's gone?" he asked brokenly, not looking at her.

"No," she replied. This did surprise House and he met her gaze, startled.

"What?"

"She's hanging on," Cuddy said simply.

House sighed and turned away, until he felt her sit next to him. "House..."

He reluctantly looked over at her and she laid a hand on his arm comfortingly. "She's waiting for you."

House snorted. "That's a load of crap. She's unconscious, she doesn't know who's there with her!"

Cuddy shook her head. "House, we both know the stories. Every doctors seen it, you've seen it. A comatose patient waiting to say goodbye to everyone they love."

House had, as an intern but he wasn't going to admit it to Cuddy. "What do you want me to do? Tell her it's okay to die? Because guess what, it's not okay for her to die! She's supposed to outlive me, dammit! I can't tell her to go into the light, and everything will be fine, because it won't be. I've already got these idiots applying to fill her spot! How it that okay?"

Cuddy didn't flinch at his anger, or remove her hand from his arm. "Greg," she told him gently, using his first name in a rare occurrence. "You need to see her. Accept what's happened and let her go."

"So what do I do? Go in there and start quoting _Romeo and Juliet_?" House asked bitingly.

"You don't need to say anything. You do need to say goodbye," Cuddy said firmly and left his office.

House sat there for a few moments before abruptly standing up and leaving the office, slamming the door behind him. He didn't meet anyone as he made his way through the hallways towards Cameron's room. He faltered for a moment outside the door to her room, but shook himself and slowly opened the door. The sight inside the room was better than what House had imagined, but he knew that was due to the absence of tubes and machines. Cameron still looked small and fragile as she lay there in the hospital bed.

He studied her carefully as he took a seat next to her bed, not touching her. She was pale, and there was a bandage wrapped around her left arm, where they had repaired the artery. Her chest rose and fell only slightly, which he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been looking for. There were fading bruises of various shades of purple and yellow on the parts of her body House could see and knew from what Cuddy had said about her injuries they would be worst on her abdomen. Her long dark hair had been brushed and washed clean of blood, no doubt by Amanda or Kym and her expression was peaceful.

Hesitantly, he reached out and touched her hand. Her skin was warm and smooth and House battled to fight his emotions as he pictured spending nights without her lying on his chest; or watching TV without her head on his shoulder until his arm fell asleep, usually about the same time she did. As he did this, he wondered again, how he had ever survived without these small gestures of affection before.

It had taken him awhile to get used to being affectionate, privately or publicly; or to calling her 'Allie' or even just 'Allison' after so long of thinking of her as 'Cameron'. Sure, he had no problems with the PDA from the beginning, but he'd had to rethink his entire behaviour to feel comfortable with it.

"Hey, Allie." He said finally, breaking the silence in the room, taking her hand in a firmer grasp. He struggled for a moment, unsure what to say next but then it came spilling out of him without any control.

"I'm sorry," he said the words he'd been longing to say to her for nearly a month, somehow realising this was his last chance to do so.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been able to come see you earlier. I told Hayley it was to stop me from being a doctor instead of... the 'loved one'... or whatever. She wasn't exactly thrilled I wasn't using the waiting room for waiting... you have her glare, which isn't technically possible, but I guess if you grew up around her..." he was rambling and rolled his eyes at himself.

"I guess... I felt guilty. I mean, Foreman feels guilty, but it's my fault really. I shouldn't have read your emails, and I overreacted to the whole song thing..."

House paused, and stared out the window for a moment. "I'm not going to tell you it's ok for you to die, because it's not. Cuddy's expecting me to do this whole Hollywood death scene bit. You know, 'I love you, I'll miss you, go into the light' thing...she says you need me to let you go."

He looked back at Cameron's still face, and she seemed to be waiting patiently for him to say what they both knew he had to say. "I love you," he told her. "You're supposed to outlive me... but if you need to go... I guess Alex will be there. Where ever 'there' is... he'd better damn well take care of you, or I'll kick his ass. Dead or alive," he said fiercely.

He could picture Cameron laughing at his threat, as she had said many times that he and Alex would have been great friends. He smiled slightly, and stroked her wrist gently as he took a deep breath to steady himself.

"I love you, Allie. I wish I'd told you more before..."

House lightly squeezed her limp hand and made to stand up, but what happened next stunned him. There was a light pressure in return against his palm. Astonished, House tightened his hold and moved in closer.

"Allison? Allie? Allison?"

"What's going on, House?" Cuddy and Evans entered the room, startled to see House bent over Cameron's body, studying her intensely.

"Her hand moved," he said brusquely, and Evans moved forward to examine her.

"That's impossible House. It was just a dying reflex," Evans said dismissively but House glared at him.

"No, it wasn't. Shut your trap."

As Cuddy moved closer to watch emotionally, House resumed his seat and leaned towards Cameron's ear.

"Allie, I need you to squeeze my hand again," he said in a low voice.

All three doctors watched closely, but nothing happened. "See, House? Reflex," Evans said smugly.

House ignored him. "Allie, I need you to squeeze my hand again, and prove this guy is an idiot. Come on, Allie."

Cuddy studied her carefully and shook her head. "House, it's not-"

Suddenly she gasped, one hand over her mouth in shock, and Evans' jaw dropped as Cameron's hand twitched within House's grasp.

"See, idiot?" House said to Evans, triumphantly.

"Oh my god!" Cuddy whispered.

House raised her hand and kissed it gently. "That was great, Allie. Can you open your eyes?"

There was a long apprehensive silence, then Cameron sighed gracefully and lifted her right arm in House's direction, managing to lift it off the bed an inch or two before dropping it in exhaustion. House tried and failed to suppress a watery smile, thinking that sigh the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

"That was good," House encouraged her. "You just rest now. We'll try again later."

Evans had dashed out of the room and sent in Amanda and Chris without giving them much explanation and as a result, they were both bewildered.

"What does this mean?" Amanda asked House in shock after he'd told them the news.

House smiled at her in delight. "It means she's not going anywhere."

Chris and Amanda breathed an enormous sigh of relief, and went out to tell everyone else.

"House!" Wilson stuck his head in the room five minutes later, beaming. "We're going down to the cafeteria to celebrate. You coming?"

House snorted. "Are you insane, Jimmy? I'm not going anywhere until she wakes up!" he declared, settling into the chair and Wilson smiled knowingly.


	13. Because you Loved me

**DISCLAIMER: House belongs to Fox, not me.**

**AN. Hope you enjoy this, feel free to read and review, but praise and constructive criticism only please! House may be OOC, but the story needs it otherwise it's not any good.**

**Chapter 13: Because you loved me**

Over the next two days, Cameron moved her hand a few times, grimaced twice and her eyelids fluttered several times a day, but she still had not opened her eyes. House hadn't left her side since that first movement, and Cuddy couldn't resist rubbing it in.

"I told you she was waiting for you," she said smugly and House rolled his eyes.

"You said she was waiting for goodbye, not to wake up. So don't get all, I'm-so-good on me you don't deserve it. Not until you fire Evans and Brewster, anyway."

Evans was still in shock over Cameron's miraculous recovery, which was the news of the hospital. Foreman and Chase were ecstatic, and were as frequent visitors to her as her family.

It was late afternoon, and House was watching TV in Cameron's room accompanied by Hayley and Jason. He and Jason were debating whether Bones and Booth should become a couple (Jason said they should, House was adamant about it not happening), when a low moan interrupted Jason's argument. House immediately switched off the TV and the three gathered around Cameron, hardly daring to breath.

"Allison?" House called to her, and her eyelids fluttered, opened briefly and closed again with a grimace and another groan.

"Close the blinds and turn off the lights," he instructed Hayley, who did so.

"Allie, can you open your eyes again?" House asked her, holding her hand in a death grip.

She tried, but could only manage another flutter.

"Come on, Allie," Hayley begged in a whisper.

"Allison Elizabeth Cameron-Mackenzie, you open your eyes this instant!" Jason threatened, his voice thick with emotion and Cameron frowned.

Hayley half-laughed, half-sobbed. "You gonna let him get away with that, Al?"

There was a pregnant pause, then Cameron's eyes fluttered open a few times, and then remained open as she blinked to focus.

"Hey," House smiled as her blue-grey eyes fixed on his face.

She opened her mouth to talk, but it was dry and she coughed weakly and painfully. Hayley automatically helped her sister sip some water, before she tried again.

"You don't need to say anything," House told her hurriedly, but she persisted.

"G-Greg," she whispered hoarsely and House's heart leapt.

"Yeah?" he asked her softly.

"You- you're crushing my hand," she continued and House looked startled as he loosened his grip on her hand as Hayley and Jason both laughed happily.

"Sorry," he said apologetically.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently. "Get some sleep. We'll talk later," he smiled and Cameron closed her eyes obediently.

"I have to go find Chris and Amanda," Hayley cried excitedly, leaving the room and Jason wiped his eyes as he followed.

When Cameron awoke next, she could tell it was dark outside but she also knew House was still there. Sure enough, as she turned her head slightly she saw him asleep in an uncomfortable chair next to her bed. As though he sensed her gaze on him, House suddenly jerked awake and smiled as he registered her gaze.

"Hi," she said softly, her voice clearer and House moved his chair closer.

"Hi. How do you feel?"

Cameron considered his question. "My head hurts. And everything... feels... squashed... inside."

"That's because everything inside was squashed," House told her bluntly. "You should be fine, though. Everyone's here too."

"Where?" she asked faintly.

"Hotels... accommodation places.... you can see them later," he assured her.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked him.

"Today, about six hours. Total, almost a month."

Cameron's eyes widened slightly in shock as she processed this news. "What happened? I- I just remember leaving the patient's home..."

"You got hit by a trunk," House filled her in and she was stunned.

Then a comfortable silence fell between the couple and House sighed. "I'm so sorry, Allie."

She smiled slightly. "You're just saying that because I almost died," she teased him and House's throat constricted.

"Well, I mean it."

"I know," she said fondly and forgivingly. Then she became serious. "It was just a thing to fill in for fun, Greg. It doesn't mean anything... the answers. I get one at least once a month if not more. And everyone has a different answer."

"I know, your mom explained," he interrupted her and she smiled.

"I remember the first one I answered after we got together... I think Bryan sent it to me. I'd just been watching _Up Close and personal_. So, I answered Celine Dion's _because you loved me_. It just depends what song I think of first is," she said simply and House leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth.

"I know," he whispered and she relaxed into the bed, smiling sheepishly.

"I almost lost you," he said softly, cupping her jaw in his hand.

"But you didn't," she replied.

House shook his head emotionally. "What would I do without you?"

Cameron gave him a small smile. "Oh, join a Tibetan monastery and take a vow of silence, no doubt," she answered and House frowned at her.

"Funny. I'm serious though. You're supposed to outlive me," he informed her.

"Oh, I plan to," she replied candidly. "Then when I'm done with you, I'll find a nice Irish, Gerald Butler look-alike guy to replace you," she grinned and House scowled at her.

"Nice," he said sarcastically and she giggled tiredly.

"I love you," she said softly, serious now and House took her hand in his.

"I love you too."

Cameron smiled softly and closed her eyes.

"Marry me."

Her eyes flew open again, and she struggled to sit up as she stared at House in shock. "What?" she gasped.

"Marry me," House repeated earnestly looking into her eyes.

Cameron was speechless. "I- uh- Greg... are you sure?"

The proposal had not been planned, or even thought of, but House had never been more sure of anything in his life. "Yeah, I am. Marry me," he said again and this time, she nodded.

"Ok," she agreed and he leaned forward to kiss her happily.

Both their families and friends were thrilled when they announced their news the next day, although Wilson and Cuddy especially had been taken aback by the news. Blythe and John, as well as Taylor, Riley and Charlie came up to visit the next week, and all gave House grief for not informing contacting them in the past month.

Cameron stayed in hospital for another three weeks after she regained consciousness, undergoing test after test for her damaged organs which were eventually declared healthy. She still tired easily and had dizzy spells if she moved too much, but was desperate to get out of the hospital. Finally, just before her and House's one-year anniversary, she was released with Cuddy's permission although she wasn't allowed back to work for another two weeks.

She put the time to good use, enlisting her mother's help to make the first initial wedding plans before Amanda finally returned home with Marcus. Chris had left with Kym and their children before she had gotten out of hospital; and once Amanda left, Jake and Dan had volunteered their services as wedding planners and the use of _La Vie Boheme _for the wedding reception.

On the day of their anniversary, Amanda went out with Jake and Dan for the night to give the couple some privacy, and Cameron cooked a simple dinner for them. House came home as she was serving and immediately chastised her for doing too much.

"We could have just ordered in, you know," he scolded her gently.

She smiled at him. "I like cooking, and it's our anniversary. It deserves more than pizza or Chinese from cartons."

"I was thinking Italian," he replied and she swatted his arm lightly.

"You know what I mean, Greg," she rolled her eyes.

After they had eaten, he made her go sit down whilst he packed the dishwasher before joining her on the couch.

"Here, happy anniversary," he said quietly, handing her a small jewellery box.

Cameron hid her surprise and opened it, drawing her breath in sharply as she revealed a simple yet stunning diamond engagement ring.

"I know I said I wanted you to pick it," House said sheepishly. "But I was just walking past when Wilson and I went to lunch, and I couldn't help myself."

Cameron was beaming as she kissed him. "It's gorgeous, I love it," she told him sincerely.

House, somewhat embarrassedly, took the ring out of the box and slid it onto her ring finger.

"Perfect," he announced, studying her now diamond-encrusted hand and leaned over to kiss her again.


	14. Evelyn Cameron

**DISCLAIMER: Fox owns House, not me.**

**AN. This chapter... I had the idea, and it should have been much earlier in the story, but it works better if Cameron and House are engaged. Albus, is of course, in tribute to Albus Dumbledore. (Don't mock. I still hate that he's dead. And Sirius... and Lupin, Tonks, Dobby. And yes, I am aware that they're fictional characters, but that doesn't stop you from reading these stories, does it?)**

**Chapter 14: Evelyn Cameron**

_Amanda Hunter and Christopher Cameron_

_Cordially invite you to celebrate _

_The union of their daughter_

_Allison Elizabeth Cameron Mackenzie_

_To_

_Gregory John House_

_On Saturday twenty-sixth of September, 2009 _

_In the Twilight Gardens of the Lincoln Function Centre, Princeton New Jersey at 11.00am _

_With the reception to follow at __**La Vie Boheme**__ at 5.00pm_

_Please RSVP by 16__th__ August, 2009 _

"Your name is twice as long as mine!" House complained, studying their champagne colored wedding invitation in his hands.

Cameron rolled her eyes good-naturedly at her fiancée. "It could be worse. I could have added Hunter to my name when Mom married Marcus," she said pointedly and House considered that thoughtfully.

"Good point. And it's not like you use all four names..."

Wilson frowned at Cameron. "Stupid question, but why is he only seeing the invitations now when you're getting married in two weeks?"

Cameron grinned. "It's easier to plan without him. All he does is make snide remarks and look at prices."

Wilson laughed and shook his head at his friend. "Trust me, House. The bride always wins, no matter the cost."

"I've noticed," he replied dryly and Cameron made a face at him.

Wilson was having dinner with House and Cameron and after dinner, Cameron had returned to her wedding plans.

"When does all the family start arriving?" Wilson asked her.

"My _four_ parents arrive next week," Cameron replied sharing a grin with Wilson as she said it. "Blythe and John arrive next week too, and then the rest of his side comes the weekend before the wedding. My family and Jason come the week of the wedding."

Then she grimaced. "The only bad thing is, my family includes my grandparents."

House suddenly sat up, his jaw slack. "Whoa! You mean there's people in your family you don't actually like?"

Cameron scowled at him. "Shut up."

"What's wrong with your grandparents?" he asked his fiancée. "And why hasn't this come up before?"

Cameron hesitated. "My grandparents... my dad's parents anyway... want nothing to do with me."

Both men jaws dropped. "Explain," House demanded.

She shrugged. "What do you expect, Greg? They're in the centre of Chicago's elite social circles, old money. I'm the daughter of a whore who trapped my father into marriage at sixteen and then divorced him. The ultimate sin came when I married a dying man, with nothing to his name."

House and Wilson were stunned. "So why are they coming to the wedding?"

"Because everyone in town knows their eldest biological grandchildren is marrying a world famous doctor. It's to keep up appearances."

Wilson gaped at her. "Are your grandparents Albus and Evelyn Cameron?" he asked her and Cameron nodded in surprise.

"You know them?"

"I know of them," he replied. House was still confused so Wilson explained. "Albus Cameron controls the entire media industry in Illinois, they have for centuries."

House raised an eyebrow at Cameron. "So you mean _old _money! How much do you get?"

She rolled her eyes, but grinned. "Not a lot. Hayley and Jake won't get any, because they don't have any blood ties to them; and I'll get more than Bryan, Erin and Ben. They disapprove of Kym and even more than my mom because she's ten years older than my dad, so of course, she must be with him for the money."

House whistled. "This will be interesting then."

Cameron smiled. "It'll be fine. Even though I say 'them', it's just my grandmother. And she will be making all sorts of comments from the time she arrives to the time she leaves," she promised them.

"So what's your grandfather like?" Wilson asked her.

Cameron grinned. "He loves me. How could he not? I'm his first-born granddaughter. Also, I look a lot like my dad's sister, who died when she was four."

"What happened?"  
"She drowned," Cameron answered simply. "I'm named after her. Grandpa's the only one who calls me 'Lissy', because that's what he called her."

House frowned. "One more question. Why didn't they come up when you were in hospital?"

Cameron snorted. "They were in China. My grandmother couldn't leave the spa she was booked into because she'd paid the deposit," she said lightly and returned to her work.

Family and friends began arriving in New Jersey for the upcoming wedding and Cameron was relieved she had thought to have everything finalised before hand in the chaos. A week before the wedding, Cameron's grandparents had been in Princeton for exactly three hours when Albus rang her apologetically at work.

"My grandparents want to stay with us," she said dryly to House when she'd hung up.

House choked on his coffee, and Chase and Foreman, who had been filled in (or pre-warned, as Cameron called it) about them looked up in interest.

"Why? I thought they made reservations at the Hyatt?"

Cameron shrugged, looking faintly amused. "Apparently, the housekeeping wasn't up to Evelyn's standards."

"Well, why do they have to stay with us? Why not Jake and Dan?"

She actually laughed. "You expect her to stay in the home of a gay couple?"

House desperately racked his brain for locations. "They can stay with Wilson?"

"Divorced."

"Foreman?"

"Black. No offence, Foreman," she said apologetically to her friend.

"Chase?"

Chase jumped in quickly. "No way! Your grandmother sounds scary as hell, Cameron."

She smiled. "Just combine Emily Gilmore and everything you've read of Mary Queen of Scots."

"And you want her in our house?" House spluttered.

Cameron raised an eyebrow at him in silence, and that afternoon she opened the door to find Chris and Albus staggering into their tiny living room with a mountain of luggage. She simply pointed them to the freshly cleaned spare room, smiling knowingly at House who was watching TV.

"How about a hello, Lissy?"

Cameron grinned as a empty-handed Albus returned to the living room and came across to warmly embrace her grandfather.

"Hi, Grandpa. Where's Grandma?"

"Your mother's helping her up the stairs," he replied and she couldn't hide her surprise.

"She's with Mom? And being civil?"

Albus chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "Being cordial," he corrected and they both laughed.

Cameron gestured for House to stand up and led Albus over to him. "Grandpa, this is Greg House. Greg, this is my grandfather, Albus Cameron."

Albus smiled warmly and shook House's hand. "It's nice to finally meet you, Greg. Welcome to the family."

House was only slightly awkward as he nodded. "Thanks. It's nice to finally meet you too."

"Ssh!" Chris suddenly shushed them, and the room fell silent as they became aware of voices in the hall.

"... I mean, how can they expect an old woman to walk up all those stairs?" Evelyn's nasal voice could be heard clearly.

"I suppose it's fortunate that Allison's fiancée had his operation before they began living together. I don't see how a man with no thigh muscle could have done it otherwise-"

"Mother!" Chris hurried to let her and Amanda into the apartment, cutting her off. Albus looked down at his granddaughter who had let out a soft, barely audible moan of embarrassment before burying her face in her hands.

"Wow, you weren't exaggerating," House whispered to her in shock as Evelyn handed Chris her coat and began to scrutinise the living room.

She let out a quick chuckle and hid a smile as she stepped forward to greet her grandmother.

"Hi, Grandma. How was your flight?" she asked politely after Evelyn had brushed her cheek with her jaw.

Evelyn shrugged. "Fine, I suppose. How are the wedding plans?"

"Done," Cameron replied proudly.

"Hmm... I do hope you're not having chicken at the reception, Allison? Margret Dubois's grandson had chicken at his wedding in the summer, and I felt positively awful afterwards. No doubt it wasn't cooked through, no one ever cooks chicken the way it's supposed to be cooked."

Cameron hid a smile. "No, Grandma. No chicken."

"So, where's your ring?"

She obediently held her left hand up to her grandmother's face for Evelyn's inspection, who frowned critically at the perfect solitaire.

"Well, I suppose it is practical for working," Evelyn announced and Chris snorted.

"That means she approves," he muttered to House who nodded in understanding.

Cameron reclaimed her hand from her grandmother's grasp and led her over to House.

"Grandma, this is Greg. Greg, my grandmother Evelyn."

"It's nice to finally meet you," he said politely and Evelyn nodded coolly.

"You too. Allison dear, how about some tea?"

Cameron managed to serve her parents and grandparents tea and have a small conversation with Amanda about the wedding rehearsal before Evelyn had to contribute.

"How many bridesmaids are you having, Allison?"

"Four," Cameron replied. Hayley was her maid of honour, with Erin, Jasmin, and Taylor as bridesmaids; while Wilson was House's best man, and Jake, Bryan, and Ben the groomsmen.

Evelyn nodded in approval. "Good. Meredith Pierce's daughter had nine when _she _married last winter and it just looked so tacky. I mean, who really needs nine bridesmaids?"

House opened his mouth to retort, but Cameron quickly elbowed him in the ribs. "That's why I kept it small, Grandma."

Evelyn patted her arm affectionately. "Good girl. And the invitations are beautiful, everyone at the country club was envious! There was just one small thing I couldn't help but notice?"

"Oh?" Cameron frowned.

"Yes, I notice it has you listed as Cameron- Mackenzie. Do you use both names?"

Cameron faltered. "No, I just go by Cameron. Even after the wedding, I'll add 'House', but professionally I'm staying a Cameron. Why?"

Evelyn shrugged, surprised. "I just think _five _names is an awful lot."

"That's why I just use Cameron," she replied.

"Of course, after the wedding, you could just drop the Mackenzie," Evelyn suggested and Cameron froze.

House reached over and gently took her coffee cup away from her, which was in danger of falling. He had told her when she began planning the wedding he was fine with her keeping Mackenzie on her name, after all, it was her last link to Alex. He also agreed with her idea of remaining a Cameron, (for professional reasons) but he knew Evelyn's comment had stung her. Unfortunately, it got worse.

"No," Cameron said firmly, shaking her head and Evelyn looked surprised at her tone.

"It was just a suggestion, Allison. After all, it's not like it was a real marriage."

Amanda couldn't help herself. "Funny, the state of Illinois says it was a real marriage," she said icily, defending her daughter.

Evelyn waved a dismissive hand. "I didn't say it wasn't legal, Amanda. I said it wasn't _real_. For God's sake, she only married the man because he was dying!"

House swore Cameron stopped breathing, and she looked as though she'd been kicked in the stomach.

"Evelyn," Albus cut his wife off loudly. "Look at the time, you'll want to get an early night if you're going shopping tomorrow."

Evelyn glanced at her watch. "Oh yes. Very well, goodnight all. I'll see you in the morning. I _do_ hope you remembered I need grapefruit for breakfast, Allison."

With that, Evelyn left and disappeared down the hall. The minute the door of the spare room shut behind her, they all leapt to Cameron's side.

"Are you okay, Lissy?" Albus asked anxiously and she nodded weakly.

"Sure, Grandpa. I'm fine," she assured him. "You should get some rest too, you've had a long flight."

Uncertain, Albus bid them goodnight and followed his wife and Amanda and Chris embraced their daughter before they too, left.

It was only when Cameron and House were in bed she allowed herself to fully absorb the shock of what her grandmother had said, and cried quietly in House's arms for a moment.

"Are you okay?" he asked her softly.

She laughed shakily, surprised to find herself suddenly on the verge of tears again. "Yeah. I don' t know why. It's pretty much what you said on The Date."

"You always say that with a capital D," he complained. "And it was stupid of me to say it, let alone your grandmother!"

She was quiet and curled herself up against his side. Wordlessly, he slipped his arms around her and squeezed her hand.

"I- I really did love him, you know," she whispered.

"I know," he replied gently, kissing her neck. Feeling her start to say something else, he stopped her. "And I know you love me just as much."

Cameron chuckled softly and nodded. "Good."

Two days after that, Cameron returned to work after meeting her grandparents and parents for lunch and collapsed into the nearest chair, moaning in agony.

"What did she say now?" House asked her, who actually quite enjoyed Evelyn's comments, even about him.

Cameron looked up with a tight smile. "She hopes I'm not wearing white. Because, after all, I've been married before and did I think anyone was really going to believe I'm a virgin at thirty-one?"

House snorted and muffled his laughter as Foreman and Chase looked stunned.

"You're kidding, right?" Foreman asked.

"I wish," she replied bitterly, rolling her eyes.

Five minutes later, there was a knock on the office door and Cameron turned to see her grandparents in the doorway.

"Grandma and Grandpa, what are you doing here?" she asked them in amazement, standing up to greet them.

"We were taking a stroll after lunch, and thought we'd come see where our granddaughter works," Albus smiled affectionately at her, and Cameron smiled back.

"Ok, come on in. Albus and Evelyn Cameron, these are my colleagues. Dr. Eric Foreman, Dr. Robert Chase and Dr. James Wilson," she introduced them.

Foreman raised an eyebrow slightly as Evelyn nodded at him but didn't shake his hand, although Albus did.

"Where are you from?" she demanded of Chase, once he'd opened his mouth to offer them coffee.

He looked puzzled. "Uh, Australia."

Evelyn nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Tell me, young man, how exactly do you people eat that _Vegemite_ thing? We had a maid from Sydney once who lived on the awful stuff. Her mother would send it over by the jarful, and it stunk like anything!"

Chase was startled by the question, but answered as best he could. "Well... it's an acquired taste," he explained but Evelyn had already moved on.

She and Albus had their coffee and left the hospital, and Cameron shrugged sheepishly as Chase, Foreman and Wilson stared at her.

"I told you," she said lightly and returned to her work.

House was thoughtful. "Hey, Chase?"

Chase looked up from his paperwork. "What?"

"Can you get me some of that Veggie stuff?"


	15. Happily Ever After

**DISCLAIMER: Fox owns House, not me.**

**AN. I'm sorry. For details, see Authors Note at the end :( **

**Chapter 15: Happily Ever After**

"Done!" Taylor announced, standing back to admire her work and Hayley re-adjusted her step-sister's hair for the final time.

Cameron smiled at them both and turned to look at her reflection in the full length mirror for the millionth time that morning. Her dress (white, despite Evelyn's disapproval) was form-fitting in the bodice with thin lace straps covering her shoulders, and the skirt had a short train and flowed softly to the ground. She wore a short veil, and her hair was swept up with beaded designs entwined through it. Her makeup, done by Taylor, was also simple but the effect was overwhelming, especially as her eyes shone with happiness and excitement. The bridesmaid's dresses were champagne-coloured and strapless falling mid-thigh in length.

"You look so beautiful, Allie," Erin said wistfully.

Cameron smiled and went to embrace her little sister. "So do you. It'll be your turn in a few years," she teased her and Erin snorted.

Hayley moaned. "Can you two stop making me feel so old? Erin, you can't get married for another ten years at least," she ordered and Erin gave her a mock salute.

"Done," she agreed gleefully and her sisters laughed.

Jasmin grinned at her friend. "Allie, remember you used to say you were never getting married until you were at least thirty?"

Cameron laughed. "Well, I'm thirty-one. It's close enough."

Hayley snorted. "Doesn't count. You were married at twenty-one, remember?"

She smiled softly, picturing her last wedding day. "Faintly. I also remember I got voted _Most likely to marry first _at Senior Prom, and I didn't even have a boyfriend then!"

"What did we know?" Jasmin laughed. "I also said I wouldn't marry Jason if he was the last boy on Earth."

"And then you married the year after graduation," Cameron giggled.

There was a gentle knock on the door and it opened to reveal a teary Amanda, Blythe and Kym, all of whom beamed proudly at the sight of Cameron.

"Are you ready, sweetheart?" Amanda asked her daughter.

Cameron nodded, feeling perfectly calm. "Yeah, ready. Where's Dad?"

"I'm here and ready to roll," Chris announced, stepping into the room. He grinned at his daughter and twirled her around to take in her full appearance.

"You look absolutely beautiful, Princess," he told her sincerely and she grinned back at him.

"Thanks, Dad. At least one person isn't crying," she laughed as father and daughter embraced.

Amanda scowled at her. "I'm allowed to get emotional at my daughter's wedding, thank you very much, Allison."

She rolled her eyes. "Mom, it's not like I haven't done this before!"

"Not with Greg, you haven't," Kym replied, smiling softly and Cameron beamed.

"True."

Chris straightened up and offered her his arm. "Let's do this, Princess."

House stood at the altar, Wilson by his side and looked awkwardly out at the hundred-odd guests filling the room.

"Why wouldn't Allison agree to elope?" he muttered to Wilson, who laughed.

"Because she's realistic to realise her parents and yours would kill you both. Besides, wasn't it Allison who suggested a family-only ceremony at City Hall? Weren't you the one who insisted on the whole white-wedding thing?"

House sighed. "Yeah," he admitted reluctantly. Knowing that when she married Alex she had known he had at most a year to live and therefore planning their wedding had been bittersweet; he had wanted her to enjoy the wedding she couldn't enjoy ten years previously. Of course, he had told Cameron it was to please his parents, and only Wilson knew his real motive.

Their conversation was interrupted by the start of the orchestra playing simple music as the doors opened, and the wedding party began to enter the beautifully decorated room, through the efforts of Jake and Dan. House carefully avoided eye contact with anyone as his mother and Amanda were escorted to their seats and Hope, Jamie and Chelsea began to walk down the aisle as flower girls, scattering rose petals. They were followed by Max as ring bearer, and then Taylor and Erin as bridesmaids. Hayley came next as the matron-of-honour, and House's heart gave a strange flutter as the music rose to a swell and all the guests rose in unison.

He couldn't stop a faint smile from spreading across his face as his gaze fell upon Cameron coming towards him on her father's arm. Her head was held high, and she kept eye contact with House as she took confident steps in her long gown. At the altar, she broke eye contact with House for the first time to embrace Chris, who then gently handed his daughter over to House before taking his seat in the front pew with his wife, clasping hands with both her and Amanda, who had Marcus' hand in a vice-grip.

Cameron glanced sidelong at House as they stood together before the celebrant, who cleared her throat and began to address the guests. House spent most of her opening speech sneaking glances out of the corner of his eye at Cameron, who was paying rapt attention as the celebrant spoke of their journey and their new life they were embarking on together. Then she was asking the couple to face one another, and House grasped Cameron's hands tightly within his as he did so.

"Now, Greg," the celebrant said to him. "Do you, Gregory John House, hereby take Allison Elizabeth Cameron-Mackenzie as your lawfully wedded wife? To love and honour her, to respect and cherish her, and to be of one spirit and soul with her, for as long as you both shall live?"

House looked directly into his bride's blue-gray eyes that were always changing colour, and saw the love and most importantly, her faith in him and their love reflected in their depth; seeing nothing more than their future together as he announced in a clear voice that carried through the guests,

"I do."

Cameron's smile widened slightly as he spoke, and House distinctively heard his mother stifle a sob, and resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"And do you, Allison Elizabeth Cameron-Mackenzie, hereby take Gregory John House as your lawfully wedded husband? To love and honour him, to respect and cherish him, and to be of one spirit and soul with him, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," she said, tightening her grip on his hands. A sudden breeze wafted through the small open window at the side of the altar, and the scent of vanilla caught Cameron's nose and she inhaled deeply. Vanilla always reminded her of Alex, and she could almost imagine that he was there, and giving her his blessing for her new life with House and every particle in her seemed to relax in unison and a feeling of peace and elation washed over her.

The celebrant smiled as she paused before continuing. "May we have the rings please?"

Max proudly stepped forward, and Cameron smiled brightly at him as the little boy handed the rings to the celebrant.

"Greg, repeat after me. 'With this ring, as a symbol of my undying love and affection, I thee wed'."

House took the thin wedding band off her and slowly slipped it on to her left hand, dutifully repeating,

"With this ring, as a symbol of my undying love and affection, I thee wed."

"And Allison, 'with this ring, as a symbol of my undying love and affection, I thee wed.'"

Cameron's voice shook for the first time as she slid House's matching band onto his finger. "With this ring, as a symbol of my undying love and affection, I thee wed."

The celebrant raised her voice to carry through the room. "With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

House pulled her closer and dipped his head to meet hers in a chaste kiss, whilst their family and friends applauded.

"I love you," she whispered to him, as they separated, her eyes glowing.

House smiled gently at his wife, the thought sounding extremely unfamiliar yet fitting perfectly in his mind. "I love you," he replied softly.

*****

Cameron let herself into the apartment one snowy December night, containers of Thai food in a large bag in her hand. Sighing tiredly, she dumped her shoulder bag and laptop to the floor and shrugged off her coat, scarf, hat and gloves before entering the tiny kitchen with the food. There was no sign of her husband of four months, but that didn't worry her as she began transferring the food from containers to plates.

"Finally!" House exclaimed, suddenly entering the kitchen. He planted a soft kiss on her neck as he reached around her and grabbed a plate.

"What kept you?" he asked her as she followed him with her own plate to the living room where they sat on the couch.

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Greg, you knew I was staying back to finish paperwork! And then I ran into Dr. White and there was a long line at the Thai place. Did you really miss me that much?" she teased. "You were only an hour earlier than me."

"Yeah, but you had the food and I'm starving!" House replied.

They ate in silence for awhile, watching television until House frowned at his wife.

"Ok, what's going on?"

Cameron looked up, startled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're hardly eating. What's wrong?" he asked her.

Cameron shrugged innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about! I'm eating!"

He snorted. "No, you're moving your food around your plate. So, I repeat, what's wrong?"

She hesitated and he sighed heavily. "Don't make me use your full name," he threatened and his wife couldn't help but smile weakly.

"Well... ok," she began, putting her plate on the coffee table. "I'll tell you, but you can't overreact, ok?"

House frowned. "Ok," he agreed, also moving his plate away.

Cameron took a deep breath and swallowed. "Well, earlier when I said that I ran into Dr. White... it was more, he came and found me."

House was still puzzled. "He came and found you? Why? I've told you before Allie, if gentlemen make you offers to elope with you, you have to tell them you're taken. No matter what they offer you."

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Greg, I'm serious."

"So am I. I don't know why you'd think I'd overreact about a doctor coming to see another doctor. Especially when White's an immunologist, like you."

She smiled slightly. "That's not the part I was worried about. White came to see me to give me the results of my blood tests-"

"Whoa! What blood tests?" House demanded, sitting up straight and staring right at his wife.

Cameron smiled knowingly, but hesitated before continuing. "Well... this morning when I was down in the clinic, he was down there too. And he was the one who grabbed me when I... sort of... passed out," she finished tentatively.

As she had expected, House exploded. "What?! Why am I only hearing about this now?"

"Because I wanted to know if it was serious before I told you," she replied calmly. "I thought it was probably just anaemia or something."

"I know what it is, you need to start eating breakfast," House fumed. "I've seen you, you know. Dizzy spells and nausea? You're not as subtle as you think you are."

"Yes I am, you're just extra-observant," she answered lightly. House was not amused.

"So, White came and saw you. Is it serious?" he asked, and Cameron could tell he was worried.

She took a deep breath and took his hand comfortingly as he waited with bated breath. "Greg... I'm pregnant."

House gazed at her blankly for a moment in shock, then blinked several times. "Are you serious?"

Cameron nodded, a small smile spreading over her face. "Yeah. I think about ten weeks. It explains everything... I just can't believe I missed it!"

House still appeared to be in shock, but suddenly leaned over and kissed her hard, and was grinning as they broke apart.

"We're having a baby?" he asked her.

Cameron beamed and nodded. "We're having a baby," she confirmed and laughed excitedly as he kissed her again.

The next morning when they arrived at work, Chase and Foreman hadn't arrived yet and the office was dark, as per usual. Cameron calmly went through her morning routine of opening the blinds, turning on the computers and the coffee pot. As the coffee machine chugged into action, however, she paused and suddenly clasped one hand over her mouth and hurried out of the office. House paused, considered going after her and decided against it. He waited until the machine was finished, poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down in Cameron's chair to drink it, casually flicking through his mail.

She returned a few moments later, her face clammy and one hand steadied against her stomach as she sat down weakly at the conference table.

"You okay?" he asked her.

She grimaced. "Yeah, just... keep the coffee away, please?"

House gazed at her in interest. "You're already off coffee?"

"I guess so," she replied weakly.

"Dammit! Who's going to make my coffee now if the smell makes you puke?" House pouted.

She stared at her husband in disbelief. "That's your big concern? Who's going to make your coffee?"

House knew that it probably had not been the most appropriate comment to make, but he really did like her coffee to start his day.

"Well..." he racked his brain desperately, trying to think of a way to repair the damage. "It is after your well being of course."

Cameron raised an eyebrow at this knowingly and he shrugged. "You _know_ you make the best coffee! It's a compliment!"

"It's a selfish gesture," she corrected him in a hurt tone.

"_And_ a compliment!" he insisted.

Cameron's expression didn't change and he crossed the room to pull her into my arms. "Allie, I'm sorry. It shouldn't have been my first thought after you spent five minutes throwing up," he apologised, a rarity for him.

She gave him a small smile and rested her head on his shoulder. "You really do make the best coffee you know," he added and she poked him lightly in the chest.

"Thanks," she said softly and pulled away.

Foreman and Chase arrived within minutes of each other shortly after, and as was their custom poured themselves a large cup of coffee.

"Enjoy it while you can, boys. It'll be the last you get for awhile," House advised them, entering the conference room.

Chase and Foreman exchanged puzzled looks. "How long is 'awhile'?" Chase asked.

"Eternity," House sighed in disappointment at the thought.

Cameron laughed. "Don't be so dramatic! It'll only be about...a year, maybe a year and a half."

"That's forever!" her husband moaned and their colleagues frowned in confusion.

"Can one of you please explain?" Foreman asked Cameron.

She smiled mysteriously and got up to lean casually against her desk. "Well, I suppose you'll find out eventually. I'm pregnant."

Chase and Foreman's jaws dropped in unison, they both seemed speechless with shock.

"Oh my god! Congratulations!" Foreman quickly recovered, jumping up to embrace his friend.

She laughed happily as she returned the hug, then accepted Chase's seconds later. "Thanks."

"So, when is your due date? How far along are you?" Chase asked her.

"I'm about ten weeks," she replied, beaming. "So, I guess I'm due June. We haven't been to the doctors yet, so I don't have an official date. We've got an appointment after lunch."

"This is really great," Foreman told her sincerely. "What did you mean by a year of no coffee?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure if I'll do six months maternity leave or take a year off after the baby's born yet."

Foreman and Chase seemed more stunned by this news than the news of the actual pregnancy. "Leave for a year?" Chase repeated.

"I can't imagine this place without you for a whole year! We'd go insane!" Foreman said grief-stricken.

House interjected. "Hey, I left for three months and you survived!"

"That was you. Your wife is actually pleasant to work with," Foreman told him.

Cameron grinned at House. "I told you I was the favourite."

She couldn't help but laugh at her co-worker's horrified, mournful expressions. "Guys, I'd still be around. I'm not taking the baby to another planet! You'll be seeing me, I promise."

The doctor's appointment that afternoon revealed that baby House was expected around June 2nd, and they (and they meaning Cameron) spent the afternoon informing Cuddy, Wilson and their respective parents and family members and friends. All were thrilled, and although House hadn't actually expressed much enthusiasm or emotion when Foreman, Chase, Wilson and Cuddy congratulated him and gushed with Cameron over the exciting news; he had pinned a copy of the sonogram picture to the top of his computer for all to see.

At the sixteen-week sonogram, House and Cameron elected to know the sex of their unborn child and waited impatiently as the technician moved around trying to get the best angle to determine the sex. As Cameron clenched her husband's hand tightly in suspense, House frowned scrutinisingly at the screen trying to read the sonogram himself.

"Congratulations, folks!" The technician said after a tense silence. "It looks like you're having a boy!"

Cameron let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and a wide, brilliant smile spread over her face as she and House exchanged contented glances. House had been hoping for a boy, of course, because as he had said to Cameron and Wilson "If it has to look like Allison, it's safer for it to be a boy. Keeping a girl locked up until she's thirty is just cruel." And although House had predicted she wanted a girl, Cameron too, had been secretly picturing a little boy in her mind's eye. She couldn't explain why, but she had developed a theory as to explain it. She knew, although House was excited about the baby, he was still nervous and uncomfortable around children and hoped a boy might relax him, and make him more receptive to the idea of more children in the future.

As she entered her third semester, just as the weather was becoming more humid, Cameron was absolutely exhausted. Never one to feel the heat much due to her petite frame, she suddenly sweltered in the New Jersey summer, and spent every moment possible in air conditioned buildings. Sleep was now a thing of the past for both House and Cameron, between the heat in their non-air conditioned apartment; and Cameron's constant tossing and turning now that she could no longer sleep on her stomach, as she was accustomed. As May arrived, her eighth month, House took to sleeping on the couch to get some rest, as his heavily pregnant wife slept lengthways across the bed, every window in the apartment wide open, three electric fans blasting, no sheets or blankets and in the strangest positions imaginable.

House was worried one of these strange positions would prompt her into premature labour, especially after he found her one morning with her feet resting on top of the headboard, a stack of pillows propped under her lower back, and her head almost off the edge of the mattress; but she insisted it was the only comfortable position she could find and if it did happen to hasten labour, all the better. She was on maternity leave now, with only three weeks to go, but came with House to the hospital anyway, and would sleep in his air conditioned office.

Cuddy had agreed to this, only on the condition she have no participation whatsoever in any cases the team have, or even paperwork. House himself was pulling double clinic duty in the forthcoming weeks so he could have three months off after the baby was born; so Chase, Foreman and Wilson became willing slaves for Cameron, getting her anything she wanted, which she was actually enjoying.

Then, nine days before her due date, Cameron returned from another of her frequent bathroom visits, and suddenly hurried into the conference room where House, Chase and Foreman were doing a differential on their latest case.

"Greg?" she spoke up tentatively, but engrossed in a debate with Chase and Foreman about the case, none of them heard.

"Greg!" she called again, louder but again was ignored.

In a blind moment of panic, she seized the closest object, one of the many medical textbooks Foreman and Chase had dug up that morning searching for a diagnosis, and she threw it with impressive force towards the whiteboard, which crashed to the floor; and caused all three men to turn to her, speechless, mouths agape.

"My water just broke," she addressed her husband, ignoring their dumbfounded expressions.

House's expression didn't change much, it was already one of shock and disbelief but he tensed, and his hand instinctively, even after all this time, searched for a cane to squeeze that was no longer there.

"Are you sure?" he asked her finally.

She nodded breathlessly, her face pale yet her eyes bright. "Yeah, this is it!"

"We can keep going, House," Chase assured him. "You guys go."

"Yeah, that was my worry. Whether the kiddies are going to kill anyone while Mommy and Daddy go pick up the new baby," House replied sarcastically.

"Greg, not the time," Cameron said sternly.

"Right, ok," he nodded and ushered her towards the door.

"Good luck!" called Foreman after them.

Seventeen hours later found Cameron lying in a hospital bed, exhausted yet joyful as she and House gazed down at their sleeping son.

"He's perfect, isn't he?" she asked him, her voice hoarse.

"Yeah," House replied, his tone full of wonder and amazement.

"What should we name him? I feel really bad we didn't have one already," she winced guiltily.

House rolled his eyes. "Relax, it's not a crime. And actually... I've been thinking about a name."

Cameron looked up at him curiously. "What?"

House shrugged casually. "I was wondering what you thought about the name Alexander."

A dazzling smile lit up her face. "Really?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah," he replied sincerely.

Cameron reached up and kissed him lightly, tears in her eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

House, slightly uncomfortable, kissed the top of her head softly. "You're welcome. And you can pick his middle name."

Cameron didn't have to think very long about it. "Alexander Gregory House," she declared, studying her son's tiny features and House smiled softly.

"It'll do," he said offhandedly.

Alexander stirred sleepily and opened his eyes to gaze intently upon his parents. He had his mother's soft and expressive blue-gray eyes, but the rest of his features were most decidedly his father's. Reflected in his son's face for eternity, was the steady, intense gaze that had haunted House since the day a young widow stepped into the Diagnostic's department for a fellowship interview all those years before and changed the heart of a cranky, heartbroken doctor forever.

**AN. So this is the end... and I know, and I apologise that the wedding is so detailed, and then the pregnancy rushed, but I had severe writer's block, and just needed to be done. **


End file.
